It could easily have given itself over to sensationalism, given its lurid subject. But, much to its credit, it didn't, and it ended up being one of the best movies this year.
Spotlight is that magical movie that shines because all of its comprising elements are so thoughtful, calculated, and impassioned, and they all blend together seamlessly. Everything about this movie is about as perfect as it could have gotten. Not a moment of screen time is wasted. Not a breath of dialogue is cast aside. Even Howard Shore's score is so understated that I often forgot it existed, until I realized its subtle tugging at my heartstrings.
Concerning the Spotlight team of the Boston Globe in 2001, the film follows a group of journalists who labored to, pardon, shine a spotlight on the epidemic of child sex abuse by Catholic priests. As they uncover the conspiracy, they learn that the entire city is implicated, including clergy, lawyers, judges, and even journalists. As one of the characters describes it in a revealing conversation, "If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse them." It's a damning indictment, all the more horrifying because of its truth.
The script is perfect. Written by Josh Singer (The West Wing, Fringe) and director Tom McCarthy, the dialogue clips along at a furious pace, but never sinks into melodrama and never sacrifices plot for clarity. McCarthy's attention to emotional beats and character arcs is pretty amazing, considering that his film could easily have gotten swept away with its frenzied plot, numerous characters, and thematic concerns. He keeps everything anchored on his main characters -- Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton are a wonder, but never break ranks with the fabulous ensemble -- and follows them to their climactic end. That keeps the film emotional but never sentimental.
McCarthy and his editor keep the film streamlined and taut, roiling through the tumultuous plot with a firm resolve to spare no details and to face the evils head-on. Their breakneck pace keep the film feeling more like a thriller than a biography or drama, helped along by an ensemble prepared to go into the dark subject matter. Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi (Silver Linings Playbook, Black Mass) helps with that, too, painting a picture of urban duplicity, where the whitewashed facades are at once pure and decadent, holy and monstrous, reflective and deceptive. Together, they keep our focus on the characters' emotional rollercoasters as they hear stories from survivors, lies from lawyers, sins from priests, accusations, condemnations, revelations, confessions, and ultimately more stories.
It's a brutal movie. Sweeping? No. I don't think a sweeping movie on this subject is possible. Partly because the problem is too widespread. Partly because the problem itself isn't a pleasant one that everyone talks about. Partly because one of the best ways to understand the issue is to hear directly from the victims and survivors, and no movie could possibly have the time or resources for that scope (and my favorite documentary, 2006's Deliver Us from Evil, handles it brilliantly, in my estimation, for reference). As the tagline declares, we need to "Break the story. Break the silence."
IMDb: Spotlight
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