Thomas McCarthy is an incredible filmmaker, showing a knack for telling stories about people who can be seen anywhere in films such as Win Win, The Station Agent and The Visitor. Then he made The Cobbler, a desperate and completely baffling comedy starring Adam Sandler. Coming off of that film, it's great to see him make yet another fascinating character study like Spotlight. This film will no doubt put McCarthy back in the, um, spotlight. This is a fascinating study of the dedication that people have, the lengths that people will go to for the truth and the fact that underestimating people is a fatal flaw many of us make.
The film is based on a fascinating true story and follows a team of reporters (Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Brian d'Arcy James) at The Boston Globe. They are the Spotlight team, who work as discreet journalists, ones with the abilities to get stories that no one else can. they have their own work area and can fit into almost any situation for journalistic purposes. Think Woody Allen in Zelig as a journalist. However, they get a task to report on the recent scandals involving Catholic priests and their molesting of children. All the while, they have to deal with their bosses (John Slattery and Liev Schreiber) who get increasingly annoyed at the spirals this story takes.
All around, the performances are amazing. These actors milk every emotion they can get out of these characters and give completely believable performances as dedicated journalists who become obsessed with this story. The way in which all four of the leads, along with Slattery and Schreiber, can show feelings that would take entire conversations with just a look in their eyes is incredible. For such a tough subject matter, these actors even bring some much needed humor to the film, especially Slattery, who impresses me more and more every time I see him.
The script and direction by McCarthy is also spectacular (the script was co-written by Josh Singer.) McCarthy and Singer bring to light how real these issues were and how important it was to get them out to the world. Even the little details of the story and how it is uncovered are done flawlessly. A lot of filmmakers overlook how important it is to get the small details correct but McCarthy and Singer understand that every little corner of the screen matters. In this day and age, it's hard not to appreciate a filmmaker understanding that.
This is also a very devastating film. There are multiple times in which the victims of the crimes are interviewed by the journalists and it's tough to watch them recall their past. This is made even better by the fact that none of these journalists are types. Although I have yet to mention any of their names (partially because I went into this film only knowing the basic story and that's the way to do it,) all of them have distinctive personalities and lives. They are people who you could see anywhere. There's one especially powerful scene involving one of the journalists and a man who attempts to defend the crime that have been committed. If your eyes aren't glued to the screen during this scene, you may want to check your pulse.
Spotlight is a dynamite film about people who are dedicated to their craft and want the truth to be exposed. This is one of the rare films about journalism that gets it completely right. There is complete legitimacy to every decision these writers make and that makes the impact much more powerful than it could have been. Come Oscar season, this is going to be the film to look out for because it's going to scoop a ton of awards.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for some language including sexual references)
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