I got to know about this movie only after it got The Oscar for the Best Film category in January this year. And I realised that it is a must watch movie looking at the cast and the plot.
Based on real life incidents, this is a biographical drama focusing on the Boston Globe press’s incredible effort to uncover the malicious controversies concerning the Catholic Church. The name "Spotlight" refers to the "Spotlight" team - a sub-unit of the Boston Globe press that acts as an investigative agency and relishes active participation in bringing forward various controversies and hidden truths. As occurred in 2001, the movie focuses on the efforts of the Spotlight team to investigate allegations against George Geoghan, a defrocked disgraced priest accused of molesting and raping more than 80 kids. The team further tries to unseal sensitive documents with a mission to provide proof of a cover-up of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.
The Spotlight team comprises of four members - Michael Rezendes(Mark Ruffalo), Walter Robinson(Michael Keaton), Sacha Pfeiffer(Rachael McAdams), Matt Carroll(Brian d’Arcy James) and they discuss their findings with editors Marty Baron(Liev Schreiber) and Ben Bradlee, Jr(John Slattery). The cast bears a professional outlook of a Special Press Team and each of the characters in the team play their own role of a unique member. While Keaton heads the team and makes the decision making, McAdams and Rezendes form a pair of investigators while Matt mostly focuses on desk work to give crucial leads.
The movie is very realistic and depicts the actual insight of the tragedy uncovered back in 2001. The background score is synced excellently with the plot and the cinematography makes the film very much appealing. It shows how an investigation is carried out along with the decision making of the members which leads to various consequences. The team discussions, the messy office of the team, the individual contributions of members after toiling hard on the facts all count on making the film look so life like. It focuses on the success of journalism and its power and influence over the judiciary. It is an all win situation of press. Especially the ending of the movie will leave you with jubilation.
The film may appear a bit slow and an art-film type yet I strongly recommend everyone to watch it.