Jungle
Spotlight

Spotlight

Movie
Studio(s): 
Director(s): 
Genre: 
In Theatres: 
Nov 20, 2015
Grade:
A+
Running Time: 
128 minutes

In 2002, The Boston Globe uncovered a sexual abuse scandal in the Boston archdiocese of the Catholic Church. The newspaper’s team of investigative journalists discovered a complex and disturbing trend that ran deep through its city. Spotlight shines a bright light on those journalists involved and the dark secrets they exposed. It’s the All the President’s Men of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

 

Led by Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team investigates potential stories that require a bit more digging than most. The team consists of Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d'Arcy James), who all operate outside of the normal day-to-day functions of The Globe. At the pressure of their new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), the team delves deep into sexual abuse allegations of children by priests and that the Church did little to prevent it from happening. It’s something that everyone involved has swept under the rug, because who would fight the Catholic Church?

 

Spotlight is a dark and gritty look into investigative journalism and a brutal look into the sexual abuse scandal that rocked Boston and the entire Catholic Church. It’s as intense as any thriller. The film doesn’t hold back and deals with the allegations head-on with a phenomenal ensemble cast as they talk to sources and uncover facts that have been kept hidden for years.

 

Some films struggle to utilize the talent of their cast, especially when there are multiple A-list actors attached, but not Spotlight. Everyone in the film gets their moment in the spotlight, pun intended. Mark Ruffalo in particular is fantastic, delivering an emotionally charged performance that is indeed Oscar-worthy.

 

Spotlight is one of the year’s best films. It lays out all the facts and doesn’t go overboard in its depiction of the real life scandal, letting its story speak for itself. Prepare to be captivated for every single minute.

Matt Rodriguez
Review by Matt Rodriguez
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