One of the most important cinematic accounts of journalism changing corruption since “All the President’s Men,” director Thomas McCarthy’s “Spotlight” garners an understated brilliance in where it explores a long legacy of corruption that’s not only been widely under reported but somewhat accepted. McCarthy manages to draw immense thrills and paranoia from a film that’s very much the antithesis of sensationalism. “Spotlight” is a gut wrenching and mind blowing account of a group of reporters tasked with uncovering one of the largest scandals in world history, a scandal that’s left thousands of victims in its wake.
What makes “Spotlight” such an immense and amazing dramatic thriller is that it only signifies a small portion of the problem that’s consumed the world since the rule of Catholic churches, and how it’s still a topic very much alive and talked very little about. What it can’t quite come around toward resolving is why the media still doesn’t take the widespread rape and molestation of children from all corners of the world seriously. Not to mention why they cover so little of it, even after it’s constantly come to light that more and more priests have been revealed to have raped and or molested children. The list keeps getting longer, the victims keep hollering for justice and very little want to listen.
Like 2014’s “The Normal Heart,” McCarthy’s news drama seeks to chronicle an ongoing problem coated with horror and tragedy, and ask us to take a second look at our world. “Spotlight” derives great tension from its topic centering on a group of reporters tasked with uncovering a sex abuse scandal from a source that’s worked as an organized crime organization for decades. Liev Schreiber’s performance is very low key as the new editor of “Spotlight” Marty Baron, who takes it upon himself to encourage his new team to investigate the ongoing accusations of rape from Boston priests. What begins as the exploration of one crime transforms in to a full fledged walk down a long labyrinth of red tape and back door bribes involving numerous individuals that have been raped and or molested by priests and holy men of the Catholic Church.
Before long the team discovers that before their very eyes, a very complex game of deception has ensued in covering up for the pedophiles and rapists of the Catholic Church, and how no one has ever sought to tackle the archdiocese for their inherent corruption. What becomes even more disturbing is how these crimes have seeped in to society and have been otherwise accepted as hazards of the priesthood, rather than horrific crimes. No more is it exemplified than in the moment when character Matt is helping the team identify all the accused priests and where they’re located, only to discover two of them reside literally around the corner from where he and his family reside.
The Church is depicted so much more as a shapeless force from the background rotten to the core that takes great strides in inflicting force in protecting its priesthood. Even in the light of definitive proof of their sexual crimes and this puts our team at great risk during their investigations, making their delving in to the very murky pool of sex crimes even more harrowing. Director McCarthy utilizes his cast wisely, relying on the very mundane characteristics of folks like Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAddams to depict unlikely reporters thrust in to a situation far beyond their comprehension, and how they literally scramble to enact some form of justice to help the folks that have cried for years about their abuse only to be turned away and dismissed.
“Spotlight” is an immense film that tackles an important and ongoing epidemic of corruption and sexual crimes in the religious infrastructure, and is the best drama of the year.