Solid film, but lacks tension

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2016)

The acting is great in this well-executed account of the Boston Globe's award winning expose of the Catholic church's cover-up of widespread sexual abuse. But the film is a bit anaemic. The cinematography is seemingly deliberately drab and doesn't show much imagination. The film shows how important it is that journalists are given the time to make contacts, build trust and gather evidence. Also, I guess, how their work can be banal and far from glamorous and requires persistence in the face of rejection. The film is almost slavish in not depicting the journalists as heroes -- in fact several times they are asked by victims and contacts why they overlooked obvious evidence of rampant pedophilia many times in the past. The acting is good -- the film is well cast, with Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Stanley Tucci all possessing plenty of restrained intelligence. As editor Marty Baron, Liev Schreiber is so laidback he's almost comatose, but it does show that not all editors are fiery extroverts. It would have been improper, given the subject matter, if the film had have been too lively and dramatic, but drama needs tension, and in the script, too often dilemmas resolve themselves quickly and neatly. It's not an outstanding film, but quite a good one, and its themes, such as the need to have courage to expose painful truths, are worth portraying.