Spotlight
by Robbo
Posted on 24 June 2021
Rating -
Spotlight is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer.
In 1976, at a Boston Police station, two policemen discuss the arrest of Fr. John Geoghan for child molestation. A high-ranking cleric talks to the mother of the children. The Assistant District Attorney then enters the precinct and tells the policemen not to let the press get wind of what has happened. The arrest is hushed up, and Geoghan is released.
In 2001, Marty Baron, the new managing editor of The Boston Globe, meets Walter “Robby” Robinson, the editor of the newspaper’s “Spotlight” investigative team. After Baron reads a Globe article about a lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, charging that Cardinal Bernard Law, the Archbishop of Boston, knew about Geoghan’s sexual abuse of children and did nothing to stop him, he urges the Spotlight team to investigate. Journalist Michael Rezendes contacts Garabedian, who initially declines to be interviewed. Though he is told not to, Rezendes reveals that he is on the Spotlight team, persuading Garabedian to talk.
Initially believing that they are following the story of one priest who was moved around several times, the Spotlight team begin to uncover a pattern of sexual abuse by other priests in Massachusetts and an ongoing cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese.
When the September 11 attacks occur, the team is forced to de-prioritize the story. They regain momentum when Rezendes learns from Garabedian that there are publicly available documents that confirm Cardinal Law was made aware of the abuse and ignored it.
As they are about to go to print, Robinson admits he learned during the investigation that he was sent a list of 20 sexually abusive priests by lawyer Eric MacLeish in 1993, which he never followed up.
Spotlight delicately presents the fact-based story resisting the temptation to over dramatise things and tries to present the evidence without any bias.
The film never has a boring moment as Todd McCarthy keeps the action moving along.
I’m sure this Spotlight is going to be compared to other similar films such as ‘All the Presidents Men’, but it is a completely different film.
Although it is an ensemble cast who all deliver really good performances, Mark Ruffalo really is the stand-out.
Spotlight may not be for everyone, and it can be uncomfortable to watch in places but I would urge anybody to see this film.
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