Spotlight (2015)

"Spotlight" stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Stanley Tucci. Released on November 6, 2015, the film follows a team of newspaper investigators and their investigations towards several cases of child sex abuse by numerous Roman Catholic priests.

The film is directed by Tom McCarthy, who also directed films such as The Station Agent, Win Win, and The Cobbler. It is based on actual stories about The Boston Globe's 'Spotlight' team. I've been waiting to watch this film ever since I heard such great things about it. It even got six Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for McCarthy. Before this film, I have no idea that this type of situation has been happening for a long time, mostly because I haven't been watching the news on television. I would have seen it sooner, but I didn't feel like traveling more than 20 miles to a different theater. Now that I finally got a chance to see it for myself, does it live up to its hype?

The film has plenty of noticeable actors such as Keaton and Ruffalo, and they delivered some really strong performances. Keaton was marvelous as Walter Robinson and Ruffalo delivered one of his best performances in his career as Michael Rezendes. Rachel McAdams definitely deserved an Oscar nomination for her realistic portrayal as Sacha Pfeiffer, one of the members of the Spotlight team. She looks, feels, and acts like a professional interviewer with flawless results. The direction in the film was very well-handled as it never lost track of its concept. McCarthy knows about the situation that has been happening for years and the way he tells it through the eyes of The Boston Globe was spot on. Another big highlight of the film was its screenplay. Out of all of the films I've seen that are nominated for Best Original Screenplay, this film's screenplay tops the others by a mile. Not only was it compelling and insightful, but also descriptive. The majority of the film consists of a lot of discussions from the Spotlight team and some interviews of the victims who had been sexually abused when they were children. It may seem boring to those who aren't into journalism, but to me, it's interesting. Their stories of what happened translates descriptively and mentally into my brain, and it made me feel bad for them. The film does feel a bit slow in the beginning, but as the film goes on, it started to get more and more engaging.
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Overall, "Spotlight" not only offers a spectacular example of journalism, but also a rich and compelling story about the shocking discovery through the eyes of the Boston Globe. With its strong performances, great sense of direction, and its descriptive screenplay that contains realism and depth, this film is one heck of a page-turner despite a couple of slow moments in the first act. It's worth recommending to those who are into journalism and to those who are familiar with its real life concept.

A-