Rent Spotlight (2015)

Holy Terror - Spotlight review by Count Otto Black

This is the kind of film that automatically gets rave reviews because nobody in their right mind disagrees with the point it's making, and it almost seems as if you're on the side of paedophile priests if you admit you don't like it. But unfortunately it isn't quite as good as many reviews claim. It's not bad, and there are some very committed performances, but it has to be said that Michael Keaton struggles to be anywhere near as interesting as he was in the superb "Birdman", probably because his character here gives him a lot less scope for characterization.

In fact, the whole movie is oddly flat. Priests commit crimes which we aren't shown, and the ghastly details of which, though we are told fairly graphically what they are, occupy as little screen-time as possible. Which is understandable; an explicit film about child abuse would be unwatchable, and possibly illegal. However, combined with the fact that we barely meet the guilty priests at all (since this is a film about real events and people who are still alive, they probably had to tread very carefully indeed around certain legal issues), this means that it's basically a movie in which some increasingly upset reporters hear second-hand about horrible misdeeds mostly done a long time ago and write a newspaper story about it, rather slowly.

Attempts at suspense are token, to put it mildly. Will Mark Ruffalo be able to photocopy the vital documents before the church gets another injunction put on them? Since we know in advance that the story did in fact run, yeah, I guess so. Will he be able to do this before a rival paper finds out about these documents and scoops the story? Frankly, who cares? With a movie like "Apollo 13", even though we know the astronauts will survive because it's a historical fact that they did, the situation they're in is so horrendously perilous that it's still a real nail-biter. But here, the guilt of the abusive priests is established from the outset, and the only real question is whether the exposé these journalists are eventually going to publish months later will be as damning as they want it to be, or not quite that bad because Vatican lawyers managed to legally restrict access to certain bits of paper.

Frankly, it's one-note, with none of the escalation of tension you need in any kind of dramatic story. And although the entire cast, especially Mark Ruffalo, are acting their socks off, the characters are so uninteresting that there are a couple of brief and very awkward scenes that obviously exist solely for the purpose of establishing that these people have some sort of life other than the very specific and limited thing they devote themselves to for 99% of the movie. The level of commitment the cast bring to the film makes it genuinely moving, but ultimately they needed a better script if they were going to make it truly great. The scriptwriters were obviously heavily influenced by "All The President's Men", perhaps a bit too much, but in the end this is one of those films which gets a couple of extra stars for really, really trying to do the right thing. I'm reviewing it purely as a movie, and I'm afraid it's not that great.

A difficult but must see film - Spotlight review by Timmy B

When Spotlight won the Oscar for Best Picture and also Best Screenplay, it once again shed light on the horrendous and disgusting abuse of children by priests in the Catholic Church, and rightly so.

There have been documentaries about this, most notably Deliver Us From Evil, which interviewed one of the clergyman and saw him openly admitting to what he did and also his feelings about minors in general. Although a difficult watch, it was compelling to see his victims trying to get the justice they deserved.

Spotlight takes a very different tack. It never shies away from the events, but rather than presenting them in a documentary style, it instead goes at a slower pace, creating more tension and traction in its approach. It also has an incredible cast: Michael Keaton, who was red hot after his success with Birdman, here becomes the strong axis the film spins on; Mark Ruffalo as the lead journalist, at times exploding in anger but motivated by the horror of what he discovers; Rachael McAdams as an equally tenacious journalist who uses her disgust to keep pushing for the truth; and finally Stanley Tucci as the lawyer whose refusal to be cowed and intimidated by the Church despite repeatedly threats ensured that the victims had their stories heard.

The film is never boring and completely absorbed me for the entire runtime, never once outstaying it's welcome or straying from the events. Amazingly directed and acted, with a great soundtrack, this film is essential and difficult viewing. A worthy Oscar winner

I agree with Otto...... - Spotlight review by JK

This was an over-long 'Elephant-in-the-room' scenario where the elephant (for obvious reasons), wasn't shown just vaguely described. It felt as if it began in the middle, meandered around for a long time then ended still in the middle.

That said - the film highlighted an important social issue and given that several of the protagonists are apparently still alive there wasn't a lot of wriggle room in the legal/defamation sense.

The one stand out episode for me was the reporter doorstepping a priest who willingly admitted to child abuse as if it was the most natural thing to do. In a couple of sentences it explained the priest/child dynamic - A priest is God's representative on earth therefore must be obeyed message which this priest clearly saw nothing wrong with and adhered to.