Spotlight Review

From The Man Behind The Cobbler?  

Released : January 29th 2016

Certificate : 15

Director : Thomas McCarthy

Cast : Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

Plot : The true story of one newspaper and a team of journalist given the case of a Priest accused of molesting more than eighty boys. As they follow the story down the rabbit whole, they start to discover a mass cover up within the Catholic Church.

Yet another entry into the Oscar run hit British screens late and just in time for the BAFTA ‘s, where we have the true life account of the newspaper team that lead investigative work and broke the ice onto the Catholic Church’s abusive controversy. Weighting in with six Oscar nominations including best picture, directing, original screenplay and two best supporting actor. Spotlight is at face value one of the ‘dryer’ films to be nominated for the best film this year, despite controversial subject matter. Recently in British boards being criticised by some for being too under dramatic in its attempts to follow the investigative process to the letter and finding its long run time a drag. The aspects criticised can be seen in the film, but when one considered the topic matter being dealt with, it seems like a story that needs to be dealt with delicacy and, as reporting should be, a unbais portrayal. Not all historical films should have the purpose of throwing stones and making obvious blames, especially when the story is still fresh and continuing to a large extent. Hence Spotlight journalistic approach tip toes around the fire as it should, avoiding turning into a smear campaign it could have easily.

The story focuses around a four person team of Spotlight, an independent investigative unit working for the Boston Globe. As a new Jewish editor (Schreiber) arrives, his first action is to encourage the team to investigate the case of one priest accused of molesting eighty boys. And so down the dark trail the team emerges. From a writing viewpoint the film does suffer from similar minor issues that other biographical Oscar baits have suffered, this being that not all finer details will be taken in by audience. The script is amazing in its ability to maintain realism within the technical world, with a film teaming with such dialogue that has twists a turns. Audience will follow the progression perfectly, just maybe not every single cause for new discovery. Where the script is even more impressive is its ability is to keep the story grounded within central characters which account for much of the films enjoyment. Another minor issue that could quiet easily be picked upon by some criticise is that of the characters used to portray (of which there are three) molested victims, some of which could be argued to be extreme or stereotypical in their fractured persona’s.

Aside from the entertainment value of character acting and realism drama, it may be the surprisingly skilful work of Tom McCarthy that felt extremely authentic and thoughtful. Despite being subtle and maybe less noticeable to cinema goer’s not hooked by the movement of the camera, it is film filled with both unique and meaningful camera work. Some aspects of his work more obvious than others, with a combination of zooming in and zooming out effect for poignant set pieces within the main office of Spotlight. As well as other works such as especially iconic opening movement showing the priest pull away from a police station to then merge into a point of view shot with a onlooking police officers. Also there was the effectively straightforward use of wide shots to depict character movement, all of which added more to the scenes authentic nature. While these effects aren’t ground breathtakingly unique, in to a year when Iñárritu is playing that card, it was brilliant to see a director who had though through the meaning behind shots so well and brought an extra element of directorial art to a film which could have easily been ninety percent over the shoulder shots.

Now to move onto the acting aspect of the film, in which the nominations across awards boards have not been consistent, with Ruffalo gaining BAFTA and Oscar nomination, and McAdams gaining ‘just’ the Oscar nomination. For some reason the Golden Globes didn’t hold these gems as highly. As well as these two actors work the whole cast functioned together exceptionally to really build a believable office team dynamic. Schreiber for example turns out a career best performance in a solid turn at subtle acting, and Keaton also stands out with his ability to change gear from his previous eccentric characters to more human ones. Ruffalo however does steal the show for a number of reasons, firstly his ability to master the unusual mannerisms of his character which despite being obvious are still executed with great precision. As well his characters more emotional response to the story being a joy to watch, as Ruffalo doesn’t flinch to turn out set pieces of dramatic acting which are truly stirring and real. These two factors will make him stand out more than the other actors due to their straighter performances, but this doesn’t take away from Ruffalo (or any other the actors) skill.

Some could claim that a film such as Spotlight has a slight protection from criticism due to topic matter dealt with, as some biopics already gain praise just for topic matter, The Butler being one in recent memory. But Spotlight doesn’t fall under that category, of course the investigate drama is more tense due to case, but its has so much more to offer than and insight into a cloudy and dark topic. Although for many cinema goers the story might speak louder than the skill put into the film, but due to class performances from McCarthy (both writing and directing) and Ruffalo as a beacon of a top call turn out of cast, there are moments when you appreciate them more than the story, and the story is a fascinating one. Though it is unlikely to walk away with many of the awards it is nominated for this year, it has enough subtle, low-key, professional work in it to be a real professional biopic. Like other films of this years awards it doesn’t beg the bigger audiences due to pace and a quiet nature, buts it’s a slow burner with the ability to remain in mind after viewing due to both talent and topic.

Verdict : Your standard sell out success with highbrow critics. Enjoyment is the wrong word to describe the film, due to style and topic, which is why it may lose out on awards and box office success. Admiration, that’s a word for the story and crew.

Verdict : 4/5

Quote : “It’s time, Robby! It’s time! They knew and they let it happen! To KIDS! Okay? It could have been you, it could have been me, it could have been any of us. We gotta nail these scumbags! We gotta show people that nobody can get away with this; Not a priest, or a cardinal or a freaking pope!”