Spotlight — Blue Fairy Film Blog

Investigative reporting isn’t interesting day to day. It’s mostly busy work, tracking down leads, taking notes, and interviewing people. Films about these investigations amp up the thrill, show reporters’ conviction, especially when they crack a case open and go on to challenge an entire system. The best film ever made on this subject is of course “All the President’s Men” which covered the Nixon Watergate scandal. There’s espionage, drama, abrupt tension, and serious thrill. Hand in hand with that classic is this Oscar nominated gem, “Spotlight.” Just as serious an issue drives this film, which is the true story of the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team uncovering a sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. The Church then covered up the scandal in Boston, as well as around the world. How we see the church today, and the perception of many priests as pedophiles, came about because of this investigation. It led to Pulitzer Prizes for the investigative unit, as well as multiple victims coming forward.

This is an actor’s film, first of all. The backgrounds are neutral, as are the costumes. There’s often dim or natural light, or it’s made to look that way. The starkness of these white and beige backgrounds work in stark contrast to the haunting subject material. Often there’s harsh language used, the performances are painful and abjectly frightening, and the reality that this happened, that it could still be happening, is almost too much. Many will ask, “Why should this film be nominated when there are visual, heart-wrenching films out there that are doing newer, more innovative things?” They’re entitled to their opinions, but in this case they are wrong. This film may fall into purview with “President’s Men,” but I promise you it is its own entity. This is a film that needed to made, needed to share the realities of how difficult and outrageous this story was to dig up.

The performances are quite good, and I find no fault with them. The actors nominated for supporting roles are McAdams and Ruffalo, who provide quite understated performances as journalists on the Spotlight team. Ruffalo is especially gripping as Rezendes, fighting for his childhood interpretation of the Catholic Church and his agnostic adult life, while also researching and tracking down the information needed to collar Cardinal Law. McAdams has never been this pointedly good, balancing between an austere assuredness and inner resolve as Sacha Pfeiffer. Her spot would have been better served with a female person of color, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t some of the best work of her career.

If this film deserves a single win, let it be for Best Original Screenplay. While many of the others in this category rightly would deserve the win this is a film of words, and very powerful ones at that. The research, the nerve needed to write this all down and put it to the screen is ridiculous in scope. Tom McCarthy, an indie director who has made some great films in the past, rightly deserves the praise and accolades that this film has been given.