Review of Spotlight (2015) by Jack F — 02 Apr 2016

Like many who hail from the South Side of Chicago, I was born and raised Catholic. I went to Catholic school for 14 years and, for a time, was in church every weekend for mass. I was even an altar boy in junior high.

That's why any story involving a priest abusing children hits so close to home for me. That could've been me. That could've been a sibling or a cousin or a friend or a classmate. Any time I hear about such a thing, it always makes me stop to realize just how fortunate I am. I'm fortunate that I came from a good community; fortunate that I came from a stable home; fortunate that every priest or brother I've encountered in my lifetime (in school or otherwise) has been a good man. If just one of those factors was untrue...then who knows what could've happened?

"Spotlight" was a tough watch for someone like me, yet it's also undeniably riveting and compelling, and I can see why it just claimed the Academy Award for Best Picture. It deals with the team of journalists at the Boston Globe who in 2001 uncovered a massive scandal involving numerous priests who'd molested (and then some) children...and the higher-ups within the Catholic hierarchy who covered for them and, in many instances, simply transferred the offenders to different parishes. And that's the real kicker; not only did these monsters escape punishment for their crimes, but many of them were actually put in positions TO REPEAT THEM.

In some ways, "Spotlight" almost works like a police procedural, as the reporters slowly begin to piece together the story and discover, to their mounting horror, it's far worse than they initially realized. They interview former victims (these scenes are especially painful and heartbreaking). They track down old news clippings and court documents. They have discussions with attorneys who both represented and are currently representing victims. And as the whole thing keeps building, it begins to have an effect on their personal lives. One reporter can't even face going to mass with her grandmother anymore. Another discovers that some relocated past-abusing priests may actually be residing in his neighborhood. Still another feels incredibly guilty due to the fact that information pertaining to these crimes was actually sent to the Globe several years ago, and it was essentially ignored.

The ensemble cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Stanley Tucci, is uniformly excellent, with most of the actors getting an opportunity to shine. Ruffalo and McAdams received Oscar nominations, but you could make a convincing argument for just about every member of the cast. You can feel the anguish, the anger, and the guilt. That might be another reason the film can be a challenging viewing experience; it forces the viewer to address uncomfortable questions, questions like, "How long has this sort of behavior actually been going on?" and "How could nobody realize this?" and "Couldn't somebody do something about it?" or, perhaps most damningly, "How could I have not seen this?".

Of course, the film makes it clear that the church did everything in its power to essentially sweep all this under the rug, and its power is vast and great. You've no doubt heard of situations in which a person of great influence is said to be "in the pocket" of big names firms and banks; we hear this sort of thing about politicians all the time. But what's often forgotten is that the church, or indeed religion as a whole, has incredibly deep pockets as well, and it's just as easy to get entrenched in them too.

I wouldn't say that I'm a religious person. I have my beliefs, and yes, they mostly stem from my Catholic upbringing. But over time, I began to drift away from some of the strictness associated with being a "Catholic school boy," if you will, and I'd say that's not generally abnormal. I don't attend mass on a regular basis, and I haven't for years. I'm not going to pretend that this is solely due to these abuse scandals--that would be taking an easy and convenient way out--but they're most certainly a factor. It's a sickening feeling that an institution that is supposed to be holy and sacred could do such awful, disgusting things, and I could most definitely understand why a person could be put off by the notion of joining the Catholic faith.

I'm certainly not condemning all priests and brothers. (As I mentioned above, I had the good fortune of having never countered any of the evil ones.) And I'd certainly like to believe that, nowadays, the Catholic community has a better handle on this. But "Spotlight" should serve as a reminder that, not so long ago, the number of "bad eggs" was staggeringly high, and those who were in a position to do something about it were, at best, negligent and, at worst, complicit in the wrongdoings.

No doubt, "Spotlight" is a difficult film. But it's also one of the year's best. We NEED challenging movies like this on occasion.