Spotlight (2016) Film Review

When news broke out about Catholics priests abusing their power with sexual interactions with children in early 2002, it caused shockwaves across the globe that not only were men of faith doing such a disgraceful and criminal act but also that the Church were doing barely anything about it other than relocating the priests involved. But thanks to the research done by journalist team Spotlight in Boston, allegations have broken out across the world with a hard look at Catholicism taken by the press and the public. So naturally, the quest made by the team of The Boston Globe's research division would get a feature film portraying the hardships of researching such a horrific notion and discovering that the affair was a whole lot bigger than originally envisioned, and with an all-star cast of award nominees and writer/director Tom McCarthy (who wrote both the critical darling Up and critical flop The Cobbler) it has Oscar glory in its sights. But  as far as standard journalist investigations go, can it make as interesting a movie as it sounds? 

Upon taking over The Boston Globe in a company shake-up, new editor Marty Baron (Liev Schrieber) places the paper's Spotlight team – a group of journalists who investigate stories for larger scale publishing but take their time in doing so, with an average yearly publication rate – to research a fairly recent news report about a case of paedophile priest John Geoghan being known by the Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Law and not doing anything to stop his actions. Despite not thinking there was much to the story to start with, the team go ahead with their commission and begin to discover that Geoghan may not be the only case in Boston, with the assistance of both an attorney who has been involved with settlements (Stanley Tucci) and a support group of those abused when they were younger and strong/willing enough to open up about what they went through. Of course, with such hardships as being a very strong Catholic community and the Church desperately trying not to publicise documents which wouldn't help them, the team are under a lot of heavy fire in order to put a spotlight on the allegations.

A reported shoo-in for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards (with its closest competition being Inside Out), the story at hand here is one that's portrayed superbly and to the best possible manner considering the subject matter at hand. While a few people involved with the real story behind the picture declaring areas to be fictionalised for the sake of painting the Church in a certain light, what we see on screen is nothing but pure quality writing, with even small details such as one member of the team discovering they live nearby one of the alleged child-abusing priests bringing heavy weight to the events. Of course, there are such sequences and revelations which could have done with additional focus as opposed to a slight moment, but with a story like this one it's best to focus on the bigger story than elements which are much smaller in importance by comparison. And that main story is one which goes by at a continuous pace and rarely falters in plot contrivances nor moments of boredom, with a final 5-10 minutes and epilogue which is just so harrowing to believe.

As the leader of the Spotlight team, Micheal Keaton brings about much gravitas to his performance and proving that Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) wasn't a one-trick pony in his attempts of dramatic performances. If anything, this only proves how far his acting range can go with his character's personal ties to the investigation leading to a credit that will likely be synonymous to himself for years to come.  Likewise, Mark Ruffalo furthers proves his own acting range in a performance which has lead to his third Academy Award nomination. His persistence in getting the facts no matter the costs is certainly admirable, and his chemistry with his ally Tucci does make for some entrancing viewing. Rachel McAdams as the sole female member of the research division brings an interesting viewpoint of resistance to the whole thing because of how her character occasionally attends her church service, but the effects of her research make an interesting toll on her and it does lead to perhaps McAdams' best roles in a very long time. Brian d'Arcy James rounds up the main team in an underrated performance out of the ensemble and, while isn't given as much to do, adds a bit of humanity to the proceedings and in the safety of his family amidst all the research he carries out. On the side lines, both Liev Schreiber and John Slattery both give off good if not underdeveloped performances, with Slattery used solely for discussions between the Spotlight crew's individual members or for catching up on what has been discovered thus far and Schreiber practically disappearing in the second half of the film in favour of full focus of the research – a bit of a pity when considering how much he could have been used due to his outsider status. 

Outside the newspaper team, you have Stanley Tucci as a recurring helper, and ever he's a marvel to watch as the often helpful lawyer with plenty of answers, and his transitional change from revealing little to trusting Ruffalo with the necessary details being a tad standard but watchable nonetheless; Doug Murray as the leader of the child abuse support group who adds much from that side of the spectrum alongside the set of volunteers willing to talk about what happened to them; and Billy Crudup as lawyer Eric Macleish who's constant appearances may start off looking like they were shot at the same time but thankfully adds up to something more by the time the film begins to wrap up.

Tom McCarthy does a fine role in the director's chair, but likewise to fellow nominee Adam McKay seems like an intriguing choice for a Best Director nominee. While nothing terrible or even close to bad, and certainly not suffering the same faults as McKay, there isn't an awful lot special about it either, with probably only succeeding in having some form of strong correlation in writing and directing this picture to a degree where it doesn't falter by having him take on dual roles. He's a fine director but not a Best Director.

Spotlight is something of a distressing and likely off-putting look into one of the biggest news stories of this century, and one that's still relevant nearly 15 years later. It has an all-star cast who are strong and have excellent chemistry, direction which is good but not quite as superb as one may expect, but succeeds in the screenplay department. As a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar, it really isn't all that surprising as it's a great viewing with only a few faults. 9/10.