"Spotlight," is a movie that when I heard about it, the cast alone excited me. It has great charachter actors like Michael Keaton, John Slattery, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schrieber, and Rachel McAdams. The fact that the movie is based on the events that led to the arrest of abusive priests in the catholic church left me even more intrigued. How could something like that happen? Well heres the story.
" Spotlight," is the investigative section of the Boston Globe news paper and when we first meet the team, they are on the verge of getting a new editor. One who is liable to cut jobs, and who does not seem impressed by how long it takes for Spotlight to do a story. It can take up to a year to investigate a story. The new Editor, played by Schrieber, challenges Spotlight to take on a case involving Father John Gagan, an abusive priest who seemed to get away with abusing hundreds of children because once the church found out, they would just move him to a new parish. Spotlight starts to dig, and discovers that 6% of the priests in Boston were abusers. At first they cannot believe it could be. Then they cannot believe that given the abuse, and how big it was, that the people in power continued to cover it up.
I loved this movie. For the bravery of telling this story. For the way these men and women went after the abusers and made sure that there was a "Spotlight," on it so that it wouldn't get swept under the rug. I loved the cast, especially Stanley Tucci, who plays the plantifs lawyer, and Mark Ruffallo, a reporter who seems most affected by the church's keeping this quiet. " They did this to kids!" he shouts. It seems only till then in such a plain and simple way, do we realize these men were monsters. And the ones who covered it up, accomplices. It will probably win a boatload of awards. The script is well written and moves at a good pace. And Keaton, as the SPOTLIGHT editor, shines as he realizes how little people did for these poor children. It is a terrific film, but it is not a walk in the park. You will feel angry and sad and frustrated that people used religion so easily to cover up crime.
I also started thinking, given the bombings this week in France, people are lucky to have social media. Its been a way of confirming to loved ones that they are safe. What would these abused children been able to do if they could report to all they knew on Facebook, or Twitter that the priests in their church were vipers? Thank god the paper took up the cause.
THE VERDICT
Spotlight is incredible, from performances to writing, to directing. I give Spotlight an A.
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