Spotlight (2015) Reviews

• A movie that qualifies as strong meat a.k.a. be ready to digest a lot of reality and face the true face of a world unknown to people living in a happy bubble.

  miriam-seraia2016-03-16

  This movie undid something inside of me. It's that part of you that holds on to hope that people can be good, that there is hope for humanity. I knew the basics of it when I went to watch it: that it is about investigative reporters looking into a story of abuse in the catholic church. And it uncovered so much more than just that. Honestly, this movie should be seen by anyone who seeks the true face of the world. We don't live in a pink bubble of happiness. F*cked up things happen to people all the time; worst thing is when it happens to the innocent. The little ones who can't protect themselves. When they are robbed of their faith and their hope and their future. Sitting in the film theatre on the last row, I was brought to tears as in front of me a long list of places where victims spoke out was scrolling. I was both shocked and mad. I felt sorry that people can fail so miserably. "Mike Rezendes: They knew and they let it happen! It could've been you, it could've been me, it could've been any of us." Indeed. When we witness darkness and we shut up and we don't do anything about it, that's when we fail. A poet once wrote, "You can join the millions talking in the dark. Or you can stand up and scream light, out into the night." So choose to stand up. In your profession choose to eradicate the oblivion of evil. This movie is a masterpiece. From the dedication of the actors to their roles, to the script, the director and the cinematography. The score? Fantastic. Howard Shore did it again!

• It Could've Been You

  trevorj-676942016-03-25

  I've rated almost a hundred movies and I've only ever given out six 10s on this website. I don't rave about many movies and I am tough to please when it comes to film, but this film is absolute brilliance. It is flawless. This one earns its 10 and it is one of the best films I have ever seen. Everything about this film is brilliant. The camera work is great and the score is underrated. However, what makes this film is an absolutely genius screenplay that is acted to perfection. This script will rock your world. I am not Catholic. I didn't grow up in a deeply Catholic area, but this film still affected me greatly. Everyone should see this movie for that reason. That is something that you have to see for yourself. However, I'd like to focus a little more on the technical aspects. Beyond the fact that the subject matter is heavy and extremely important to American and world culture, this movie does everything else right. The acting is absolutely phenomenal. This is particularly true for Ruffalo and McAdams. I adore the subtlety with which they both act. It is brilliant. There isn't much more to say. This film is pure brilliance from its opening frame to its closing moment. For both cinematic and cultural reasons, this is a film that every person should see.

• Fantastic Movie Filled with Sadness

  boatsfra2015-11-28

  Going into the theater to see Spotlight, I had read the rave reviews and knew I was in for something special. This movie did not disappoint! Being from Boston, this movie really made me think about my life growing up, as a lot of "what ifs" came to mind. "What if" I went to church every Sunday..."what if" I was gullible enough to have a priest lure me into his lair. Spotlight goes straight to the heart of this amazingly sad (and apparently never-ending) saga of the Catholic church and the amount of abuse priests have inflicted on hundreds of victims. The acting is all-around fantastic, from Mr. Keaton to some actors that I am not familiar with, which is an aspect of this fine movie that makes it so profound. Tense throughout, I was saddened to hear that this abuse is an epidemic and probably will never be stopped. The exclamation point was when a member of the audience stood up and told the rest of us "...I am a survivor..." WOW...

• Priests Secretly Committing Pederasty. An Award Winner Reality Movie.

  HealthyLove2016-02-14

  Spotlight is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The film follows The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative unit in the United States, and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. It is based on a series of stories by the real Spotlight Team that earned The Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup. Spotlight was shown in the Out of Competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. It was also shown at the Telluride Film Festival and the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on November 6, 2015, by Open Road Films. It won numerous guilds and critics' association awards, and was named one of the finest films of 2015 by various publications. It is nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Best Supporting Actress: Rachel McAdams, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. In 2001, The Boston Globe hires a new editor, Marty Baron. Baron meets Walter "Robby" Robinson, the editor of the Spotlight team, a small group of journalists writing investigative articles that take months to research and publish. After Baron reads a Globe column about a lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, who says that Cardinal Law (the Archbishop of Boston) knew that the priest John Geoghan was sexually abusing children and did nothing to stop him, he urges the Spotlight team to investigate. Journalist Michael Rezendes contacts Garabedian, who initially declines interview. Though he is told not to, Rezendes reveals that he is on the Spotlight team, persuading Garabedian to talk. Initially believing that they are following the story of one priest who was moved around several times, the Spotlight team begin to uncover a pattern of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests in Massachusetts, and an ongoing cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese. Through a man who heads a victim's rights organization, they widen their search to thirteen priests. They learn through an ex-priest who worked trying to rehabilitate pedophile priests that there should be approximately ninety abusive priests in Boston. Through their research, they develop a list of eighty-seven names, and begin to find their victims to back up their suspicions. When the September 11 attacks occur, the team is forced to deprioritize the story. They regain momentum when Rezendes learns from Garabedian that there are publicly available documents that confirm Cardinal Law was aware of the problem and ignored it. After The Boston Globe wins a case to have even more legal documents unsealed, the Spotlight Team finally begins to write the story, and plan to publish their findings in early 2002. As they are about to go to print, Robinson confesses to the team that he was sent a list of twenty pedophile priests in 1993 in a story he never followed up on. Baron, nevertheless, tells Robinson and the team that the work they are doing is important. The story goes to print with a link leading to the documents that expose Cardinal Law, and a phone number requesting victims of pedophile priests to come forward. The following morning, the Spotlight team is inundated with phone calls from victims coming forward to tell their stories. The film closes with a list of places in the United States and around the world where the Catholic Church has been involved in concealing abuse by priests.

• If there were 90 of these bastards, people would know.

  lastliberal-853-2537082016-02-25

  It is no secret that I left the Church for many years after they failed to deal with the abuse scandal. Like the Globe personnel, I had no idea of the scope of the problem. I was just angry that those responsible had gotten away with it. The Globe thought this story was worthwhile when they had uncovered 13 priests that abused children. When they discovered it was closer to 90, they were shocked. The eventual number in Boston was 186! This is not surprising when it is estimated that 50% of all priests are not celibate. Mark Ruffalo was amazing in this film, and Rachel McAdams was superb. Neither will likely win awards in a year of fantastic performances, but there is a chance the film may steal an Oscar. It would be a great thing. The film was very difficult for a Catholic to watch, but it was definitely worth it. Unlike the recent documentary, Mea Maxima Culpa, it focused on the Globe and the story, and not the abuse.