I have always had a soft spot for the press. I firmly believe that it is crucial to our keeping a free society and an open exchange of ideas. Without it, we would be lost. Yes, many claim it is a liberal pundit ground, overwhelmed by stinking liberals who want to bring society down for the sake of a buck, but I fundamentally disagree with them. Are there people with agendas? Of course, and today's AD/HD blog-infested world has only exacerbated the situation, but it is often the press that shines a light into those dark places we don't want to talk about, for better or worse. It has been said that for evil to flourish, good men need only do nothing about it. Spotlight is a damning criticism of that indifference, and what it sometimes takes to change it.
The story of Spotlight is pretty simple. It is the true story of how The Boston Globe broke the story of the Catholic priest abuse scandal in the early 2000's. Liev Schrieber plays the new editor that directs his investigative team headed by Michael Keaton to push the investigation. The movie portrays the enormity in scope of the problem and the hurdles the team had to go over to report it.
The subject matter is, quite frankly, some of the most depressing I have seen. It lays bear the heinousness of the crimes as the church moved predators from diocese to diocese and pressured the families to stay quiet about crimes these priests were inflicting. The movie takes the time to show not just the damage done by the crime, but also to people's faith in what they thought was an unimpeachable institution. This movie obviously has a point of view, and sometimes devolves into accusatory criticism of an entire institution that does a lot of good, rather than sticking to the facts of the case. That said, the movie is absolutely incredible. It not only takes on the crime itself, it takes on the ubiquity of the church and its culture in Boston to illustrate how difficult it was to find information about the scandal. In a not-so-subtle continuing motif, every establishing shot, or long shot usually begins and/or ends with a different church in the background, illustrating the collosal presence the church has in these people's lives. It is literally everywhere. And the sad aspect about the scandal is, everyone knew about it, the facts were there in public sources, yet no one stood up to it and said, "No, this is wrong." Indeed, as the movie shows, there was a large conspiracy to cover it up.
The performances are straightforward and non-bombastic, injecting a sense of realism not usually present in movies like this. There is not a stinker in the cast, but standouts include Keaton, Mark Ruffalo as one of the reporters, and Stanley Tucci, playing the defense attorney for many of the victims. Tucci continually puts out amazing performances, one after another. I have never seen him turn in a stinker, and this movie is no exception. He is long overdue for an Oscar and has only one nomination for 2009's The Lovely Bones. He delivers again and again, but unfortunately, I don't think he will be awarded one this year because this is not the type of performance that usually wins. But his quiet and nuanced portrayal shows a good man who deeply cares about the welfare of his clients, but is hamstrung by the ethics of his profession.
This is an intensely sad movie, but one that should be seen by everyone. This is what great movies are.
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