Spotlight, directed and co written by Tom McCarthy, is an important film. Period. And sometimes having a dysfunctional part of our society exposed is more important than media entertainment.
In an artistic sense, “Spotlight” was ho-hum. Research and conscience do not equate great visuals. I’m sure Charlie Kaufman or PT Anderson could come up with some outside the box conceits, but Tom McCarthy simply told the straight story of four + reporters who had to simply research thoroughly and wait out the ‘best’ time to publish the expose` against the Catholic Church.
The acting was tamped down due to, again, the subject; men and women poring over boxes and boxes of abuse and court documents, calling on witnesses who sometimes slammed doors in the face of well intentioned reporters. That and the paper thin characterization (these reporters had invisible spouses and children) did not stop me from enjoying watching two of my favorite actors, Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton
While I was well aware of the cover up history in the Catholic Church, I had no idea of the magnitude. The film displays at least 5 screens worth of domestic and international cities with similar scandals.
Can we all just agree to watch over our children and teens better and to intervene when there’s a concern? If even one parent pays more attention, the movie was a success.
