Review of Spotlight (2015) by James D — 06 Mar 2016

In the most important film of the year, and of recent years, "Spotlight" tells the story of the Boston newspaper crew that brings the world to its knees when they reveal what the Catholic Church has been covering up for years about the molestation of little boys by priests.

The film is first and foremost one that should be watched by all, it's important, and will tell everyone who doesn't already know how this whole thing went down in 2001, what it was like to uncover such a travesty of disgusting acts and how the Catholic Church would do about anything to keep it a secret and how they did. It's emotional, empowering, engrossing, informative, and easily should have (and did) win best picture of the year at the Oscars.

The writing is darn near perfect, it's a drama so it has to keep you sucked in the whole time, especially with no action or anything but dialogue throughout. But, it does just that, it runs smoothly, and has a great pace to it. It will most definitely grab your attention and hold on tight to tell you this unreal story. It also does this with the help of a story that most want to hear and know about.

The acting is by far the best part of the film though when it comes to breaking it down technically. With a cast that is indeed star studded; Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, and Stanley Tucci to name a few, it should be great. It's definitely led by the performances of Ruffalo and Keaton, who shine without a doubt showing raw emotion and determination to get this story to the public. You can see how much they care and feel about the matter. They also grab your emotions and make you feel what they feel, and make you care about this and bringing it to justice so to speak. McAdams is one I'm kind of disappointed in. She does well, don't get me wrong here. But I don't think she deserved an Oscar nom for her performance. One that I think was underrated and under appreciated though is Stanley Tucci, who holds his own and displays greatly that even in a small role with little onscreen time that he can shine with the brightest of stars. Everyone else definitely does a good job, I just think Ruffalo, Keaton, and Tucci deserve the most praise.

Overall it is a great film, it has a sense of importance that Hollywood lacks of now days. It tells a story that needs to be heard and does it smartly with the writing, and shows it greatly with the acting. All in all, it's a must see, and it is easily to see how "Spotlight" took home best motion picture at The Academy Awards this year. 4/5 JD.