Spotlight!

So when I reviewed Beasts of No Nation recently I commented on how it would be hard to be funny whilst reviewing it, and I was right, it was. This was because it was about child soldiers, and there is pretty much no way you can make a joke whilst talking about that. So anyway, I am going to talk about a film which bases its story on the historic sexual abuse of children associated with the Catholic church, so, yeah....

Sexual abuse by priests and church members seems kind of like old news these days. Its almost as if its expected and no longer a surprise when we hear about it. Make of that what you will, but there was a time when it was perhaps the biggest news story in the world and The Boston Globe in the United States were at the forefront of this discovery. Specifically the ''Spotlight'' team which are as far as I can tell a special in depth investigative team who produce scandalous stories after a long period of research and evidence gathering. This is what the film is about, rather than dealing directly with the abuse of children, instead the plot focuses on a small group of journalists who work their collective arses off the find out the horrible truth, and find out they do. It is discovered initially that at least 13 priests were known to have abused children, however further snooping reveals the numbers are in the thousands.

This film is therefore hard to categorise for me. Its described as a drama - which it is - but I always feel that this is too broad. Its not a thriller, though it is thrilling. I suppose the best way to describe it, is as a investigative thriller, character driven drama (yes Andrew because that's a really good way to describe a film). Anyway, that's the best I can do.

But did I like it?

Yes...

Spotlight is a quite excellent film. From start to finish it draws you into the investigation and keeps you there, wondering what will happen next and what piece of evidence will rear its head. Its not action packed, but its not that type of film anyway. The main thing that really works is that this is a small group of people taking on a large and powerful organisation, i.e. the Catholic Church. I believe its quite common for audiences to root for the little guy and in this case the little guy is a group of 6 people against an institution that wields considerable power. The suspense is dealt with expertly, every time it looks like the Spotlight team have hit a wall, a new bit of information comes to light, or a new witness agrees to share what they know. This is never overly convenient and you don't feel as if they are lucky. Instead you see just how hard these people worked and just how good they were at their jobs. Another thing you feel is utter contempt and shock at the actions of the church. There was an audible gasp in the cinema at one point when I was watching it and you certainly feel that way considering the subject matter.

As for the acting, that is spot on. I recently criticised the ensemble cast of The Hateful Eight as I felt it weakened the film, not in this case though. Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams are the stand out performers, though the rest of the cast are just as good in their roles. The film flips between each character and their respective investigations and ties them together nicely to create the case against the church and create a voice for the victims.

Ruffalo is particularly good in my opinion.It's obvious he has gone full method in this role, right down to the way he clearly imitates the way the real Michael Rezendes (his character) stands and walks. Some may find it a little off putting, but I felt once you really got into the film it was no longer an issue.

There is a lot of buzz around this film, and it has been a near constant on the awards circuit. I don't think it will win any of the big ones - by which I mean the Oscars -  but its not just there to make up the numbers. Serious thought has gone into this movie, and the result is a very tight and compelling piece of cinema, its well worth a watch.


Jeez, I couldn't even manage one humorous observation, I guess my standards are slipping. What I need is a really crap film to review so I can rant, maybe I'll watch Grimsby.