Spotlight (2015)
Although it’s a recent winner, Spotlight‘s impression on me has improved with age. During those halcyon days of 2015, we were living in a different country, or so it seemed. I thought the film was good back then, but it was another “issue” picture, and that irritated me. The Motion Picture Academy has been on an extended crusade of late, selecting movies that feature relevant, trending causes for their top award even if the films themselves aren’t all that remarkable in other respects. They present urgent concerns, to be sure, but offer little else that is memorable. No expert craftsmanship or unusual artistry, in other words. They aren’t bad pictures, but the issue alone is the “wow” factor. You can hear it reflected in the red-carpet banter before the Oscar telecast begins. The typically shallow “Who are you wearing?” has been replaced or embellished with the equally hollow “What cause are you representing?” I take nothing away from these serious issues, but I grow tired of the Academy mistaking their awards ceremony for a political caucus, particularly when the film in question depicts a worthy topic in a straightforward, serviceable fashion. It’s as if the gesture of visibility alone elevates its status to “important” just by mentioning it. Subject matter is critical to Academy voters and filmgoers, as it should be, but when it overshadows quality as a “fast pass” to acclaim, I have an adverse reaction. I want more from a movie than a compelling subject explored in a standard way.
For better or worse, Spotlight is one of these films with a cause célèbre, but a strange thing has happened in the handful of years since this movie debuted. Our country has shifted in unexpected, unimaginable ways, making this film seem even more powerful—and yes, important. Contrary to all logic, we elected a president who built his campaign around a smokescreen of “fake news,” undermining truth to advance his rebellious agenda—a campaign not based on facts but fears. Without turning this post into a rant against tyranny, he dismantled investigative journalism in order to gain power and seize control. This shift in politics has nothing to do with the subject of Spotlight—the “issue” at hand, if you will—which is about exposing a massive pedophile crime-ring within the Catholic Church. But when you add the recent attacks on journalism from a sitting president into the mix, this movie is steered in a new direction and the stakes seem even higher. Additionally, Spotlight was released two years before the eye-opening #metoo movement went viral in 2017. All of this affects my experience watching the movie today.
Spotlight gets its name from a four-person team of reporters at the Boston Globe in 2002, members of the oldest continuously operating investigative journalist unit in the United States. Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Caroll (Brian d’Arcy James) are asked by the Globe’s new editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) if they would consider scrapping their recently proposed exposé to work on a story that has caught his eye. It’s about a lawyer named Mitchell Garabedian (Stanley Tucci) who charges that the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law (Len Cariou), knew about a priest’s sexual abuse of children and did nothing to stop it.
What begins as the pursuit of information surrounding one priest’s misconduct escalates into a pattern that reveals a systematic, complex coverup throughout Boston. The more documents and witnesses they uncover, the more prevalent and established this behavior becomes. Rather than assemble enough evidence to unmask an abhorrent local crime in their paper, editor Baron asks his Spotlight team to go for the bigger picture and expose the entire organized crime-ring of pedophilia within the Catholic Church.
Spotlight succeeds and stumbles, almost in equal measure. The direction and screenplay offer a fast-paced narrative, but so much exposition and so many names are hurled at us early on that it’s difficult to keep up. Journalists chatter about off-camera events, both recent and historical, particularly in the first hour but throughout the entire film. Struggling to recall or process who and what they’re discussing becomes a turnoff. I can understand why audiences bail out when a movie chokes on its own exposition. Clumsy dialogue doesn’t help—for example, “law” (as in legal actions) versus “Law” (as in the Archbishop, Cardinal Law), referenced only by his surname. If you have to rewind in your brain to figure out which one they mean, you’ve missed more rapid-fire exposition. While I give credit to the amount of homework involved in such a detailed script, it’s bad writing when you assume too much from listeners and viewers. It’s no longer “smart,” it’s just convoluted.
The saving grace is the ensemble cast. The acting is excellent, from the leads down to smaller roles, and everyone involved helps bring this tragic story to life. It’s based on true events, which breaks my heart. Each time a reporter secures more evidence or unearths more witnesses willing to go on record, I don’t know whether to cheer or cry. I applaud their diligent quest for truth, but I’m horrified, outraged, and deeply saddened by what they find. I’m equally horrified by leaders of our country who try to silence or discredit legitimate journalism like this.
“The Catholic Church measures time in centuries,” according to one character, which is true. This isn’t a trending development or a recent isolated scandal. It’s the grave realization that the “organized” part of organized religion must be scrutinized at long last and held accountable for its criminal activity. People who live outside of the church’s unparalleled protection but support and even exonerate it must take responsibility as well for playing a key part in this centuries-old crime ring. “It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to abuse one,” is another line that hits home.
Spotlight may be an “issue” picture with a problematic script executed in an unsurprising manner, but it sounds a much-needed alarm today. Perhaps it eases the Academy’s collective conscience to recognize a movie like this for its top award. I understand why they did it, but, aside from the pressing issue, I’m puzzled by what exactly is “best” about it.
Spotlight
Director | Tom McCarthy |
Primary Cast | Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Jamey Sheridan, Billy Crudup, Len Cariou |
Familiar Faces | Michael Keaton from Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) |
Firsts | None to speak of |
Total Wins | 2 (Picture, Screenplay: Original) |
Total Nominations | 6 (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Supporting Actress: Rachel McAdams, Screenplay: Original, Editing) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
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