Directed by:
Tom McCarthyCinematography:
Masanobu TakayanagiComposer:
Howard ShoreCast:
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d'Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Doug Murray, Sharon McFarlane, Jamey Sheridan (more)VOD (3)
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Starring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton, Spotlight tells the gripping true story of a team of Boston Globe reporters who launch a fearless investigation into child abuse allegations against the Catholic Church. What they eventually uncover is a shocking citywide scandal; almost ninety priests guilty but never convicted, legal settlements done in private, and a systematic cover-up of the abuse by church leadership. Determined to leave no stone unturned in their hunt for the truth, their investigation soon threatens to bring down some of the city's most powerful figures. Capturing the high-pressure world of in-depth reportage, Spotlight is a smart, thrilling depiction of journalism at its best. (Entertainment One)
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Reviews (13)
It is not without reason that is cinema called the factory of dreams. We expect from it a spectacle, action, excitement, tension, and a trip to a place where an ordinary mortal will never, or even want to, reach. Spotlight goes against all these trends and offers unexpectedly civil acting, investigation devoid of all the usual thriller clichés, and shows journalism as it probably actually takes place. i.e., as a tedious gathering of facts, persuading for interviews, and simply routine work. Essentially any profession that you strip of its cinematic glamour suddenly looks terribly ordinary. Detectives don't run around on rooftops and neutralize villains, and spies don't eliminate enemies by the dozen. Spotlight represents that significantly smaller face of American cinema, which studios usually send to film festivals. And in the case of Spotlight, those festival laurels are well-deserved. I do wonder how the audience's support would turn out if it were not such a scandalous case, but oh well. These journalists don't stand against the machinery of a powerful corporation or a corrupt politician who sends deadly squads against them, but even so, strong emotions are felt. Spotlight offers a display of great acting talents, but this time the stars subdued their egos and didn't showcase themselves, but rather their characters. For me, I give it a thumbs up but I don't feel like giving it a fifth star because, although it may sound sacrilegious, Spotlight strips off the cinematic glamour so much that in some parts, its depiction of reality becomes boring. Overall impression: 80%.
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An incredible surprise in how the film is shot with great acting performances. The actors don't unnecessarily draw attention to themselves but act in a way that highlights an incredibly strong theme, showing the corruption of society, primarily American, and its integration of faith into life. But this can be applied to other topics as well. If any film deserves an Oscar, it's Spotlight.
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Cheap, economical and yet A-grade filmmaking, which is what Hollywood is all about. Spotlight isn't about emotions, it's about facts, hence the Oscars. A great thing and the biggest drawback for the viewer, as this two-hour procedural is a bit monotonous, tiresome and impersonal in places. On the other hand, the issues it covers and the testimonials it leaves are unprecedented, almost demonic, and a clear indication that the church is first class crap.
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I just have a soft spot for these chamber dramas. Especially when I feel like I'm not wasting my time watching them because it gives me something. Whether it's quality entertainment or new knowledge. More films like this and I'll like that American cinema a lot more. The actors act because they have something to act. And that's the best part.
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Procedural minimalist journalistic drama par excellence, which is about journalism and journalists as much as about the topic of that coverage. In a way, it's a movie coverage, how an honest investigative coverage is made, rather than a journalistic thriller that you might have expected based on what the coverage is about and what it reveals. With few exceptions proving the rule, no room for background or personal issues. Only a few months of obtaining source after source, confirming the credibility of sources, documents, statistics, statements, spending endless hours in the archives, and gradually completing the puzzle piece by piece until a complete disturbing picture emerges. Whoever likes this way of brief portraying things where the events are observed from distance, will clearly enjoy it. It called for being captured and build purely on that case, to focus more on the emotions or the priests, the Church and the victims, and the genre rules of the journalistic thriller could be respected, but there are other movies to do this job. And it is precisely this seeming impartiality and civility that makes it even more impressive and, as a result, more disturbing, as only the simple facts can do, and how it could have never been achieved by too emotional movie.
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