Boston Reporters Chase a Story That Needs to be Told

From left: Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Brian d'Arcy James,
Michael Keaton, and John Slattery in "Spotlight"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com 

Seeing the news industry depicted in cinema is a fascinating thing to watch in the movies.  We’ve had films like “State of Play,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and this year’s “Truth.”  And, of course, we can never forget one of the most significant film’s about journalism, which is Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 breaking-news classic, “All the President’s Men.”  While watching these films, we are given a thorough view of the work newsmakers go through to bring the latest stories to the world, and it’s nothing short of stimulating.

In Tom McCarthy’s newsroom drama, “Spotlight,” he focuses on the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of journalists who uncovered one of the biggest stories of the early 2000s.  With an impressive cast and a narrative that pulls you right in, McCarthy weaves an intricate film that plants you right in the middle of a significant piece of journalistic history.

In 2001, “The Boston Globe” investigative unit, “Spotlight,” includes Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), Ben Bradlee, Jr. (John Slattery), and Matt Carroll (Brain d’Arcy James).  When “The Globe” receives a new editor, Martin Baron (Liev Schreiber), he suggests to the “Spotlight” team that they look into the accusations of child molestations by Catholic priests in Massachusetts and the Boston Archdiocese’s attempts to cover it up.  As the team begins to conduct their research, the reporters will realize there is more to the scandal than they expected.

The film provides a cast that is one of the best you’ll see this year.  What is so superb about the ensemble is how there isn’t really a main character because they are all given near-equal amounts of screen time.  This achievement within the makeup of the cast helps in showing how the “Spotlight” reporting is a group effort, with each reporter doing their own part to bring the story to their readers.  Although each performer manages to breakthrough when it’s time for their character to bring something to the film, it’s seeing the cast work together that is a major highlight of the film.

The screenplay by McCarthy and Josh Singer offers a deep look into this intriguing and tragic true story.  The amount of depth the two writers put into the narrative provides us with a full view of how much this scandal impacted Boston.  By having us follow the news team through their investigation, including scenes of the victims revealing what they endured, meetings with lawyers, and courthouse visits, we get an extensive idea of the work that these reporters were committed to when trying to bring this story to the world’s attention.  Every scene pulls back a layer of the cover-up, with not a single minute of the film being wasted.

McCarthy directs the film with a considerable amount of quiet tenseness.  When he has us accompany the characters as they conduct their investigation, he’s able to get us heavily invested in their research process as they travel around Boston in search of the truth.  As the reporters make one startling discovery after another, McCarthy causes our pulses to quicken by creating race-against-the-clock scenarios for the reporters to get what they need, when they need it.  McCarthy understands this is an important chapter in American journalism and does what he can to make sure audiences get as much out of this story as possible.

“Spotlight” isn’t just one of 2015’s best films, but is also a powerful tribute to journalism helping victims come forward to reveal injustices, making this film some of the most essential viewing of the year.

Final grade: A