Gritty and well acted

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2016)

For me this film was beautifully tragic; by this I mean it was a fantastically acted film and gripping; but I'm disgusted and mortified that it actually happened.
It was good that the film focused on how the conspiracy into the abuse was covered up; for me it was a preference than focusing on the victims and bringing any more agony to them. It brought a tear to my eye to know the depths that this went on (and probably still does) and the number of victims that were involved. As someone who has a criminology degree with a focus on child abuse this film was particularly poignant. I was appalled at the end to see that the cardinal for Boston was moved to a high ranked job in the Vatican; when it was clear from scenes and evidence brought up in the film that he was aware. The end provides a list of places where it has been uncovered; this is heartbreaking.
Mark Ruffalo was fantastic in this film, however, for me the stand it performance was from Michael Keaton as the 'Spotlight' team editor.
For me it was first 10/10 of the year (2016)