Subtle and methodical. Great acting, but characters you do not care much about.

Rating: Null/10 (22 February 2016)

Great films create a compelling connection to the actors and characters. You care about them as individuals and you come to love, hate or relate to their quest. Spotlight does not really deliver on this. It is a good film, and it tells an important story with an important message about the fourth estate. Well, actually, the film is also largely about the flaws of the first estate, second estate, and third estate, but the fourth estate (the press) is the one that rebounds from its flaws.
This methodical telling of a true story about the importance of a vigilant press is rated highly by critics this year. It is a story about how the press, politicians and religious leaders all conspired to protect a terrible group of people. This is an important story in that we must prevent this from ever happening again by any people in our society.
But the importance of the story itself is not how you rate a film. This film is well crafted, well acted and very well cast. But its mission is quite methodical and we gain few emotional insights about the key protagonists.
The film deserves much praise in that it may help teach us to never be silent again when dark and evil behavior in among us. The mission to end this evil is important and for that reason, it is an important film to see.
We can hope this film helps prevent future wrongdoing and helps people to speak out when they see things that are truly wrong.
It is a very well-crafted film with an important message. The message may be more important than the film itself.