A Hallowing Investigative Treatise

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2017)

I'm a big fan of investigative films, with recent-ish efforts like "Zodiac" and "The Insider" immediately coming to mind as favorites. "All The President's Men", of course, is the industry standard for this type of filmmaking. "Spotlight" can easily hold its own with all those great films.
For a basic plot summary, "Spotlight" tells the story of the investigative crew of the Boston Globe who unearthed a large child abuse scandal (clergy molesting children) that was being covered up by the Catholic Church. Reporters played by Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and John Slattery all combine to pry the lid off of the scandal through diligent reporting and copious research.
What I really like about "Spotlight" is how it presents the material almost without "editorial comment" (to steal an apt newspaper phrase). This isn't so much a movie about the Catholic Church scandal (though implicitly it can be read as such, I guess) as it is a film about the journalistic/investigative process needed to unearth such facts. As such, there really is very little verbal or explicit moralizing that takes place on screen. Instead, director Tom McCarthy lets the process unspool and allows the viewer to form their own emotions as each new thread is pulled.
Of course, it always helps to have such a who's who of acting talent, and they all work perfectly here. They each bring something unique to the film while also functioning as a competent whole.
"Spotlight" can be a hard movie to watch at times (the subject matter, without being visually graphic, is difficult to digest), but it ends up being an important treatise on the power of journalism and investigation to reign in the power of establishments that feel they might be above the law. Whether you go to Mass every week or think religion is a bunch of hog-wash, you will still be affected by the message of this film.
As such, I now better understand why "Spotlight" took home Best Picture at the 2016 Academy Awards. Simply put, it is an expertly-crafted film, filled with excellent acting, that also tells an important story. What more can one ask for in a dramatic film?