Fresh from our second showing of Spotlight, we venture into our first Film review of a marvellously made movie based on actual events that makes for an exceptionally gripping & touching tale. With a pedigreed cast collection & a fascinating subject soaring it into Oscar nomination stakes, what & who makes this an award winning movie in our books?
In our first foray into reviewing films, we have caught a moment in time when a whole host of marvellous movies have hit the cinema circuit, perhaps an annual phenomenon as its awards season, the Golden Globes just gone, while its BAFTA’s soon and, of course, the Oscar’s are still to come. So in the race to win the biggie’s, best director, actor, actress & naturally, film, it’s no surprise that a whole stash of screenplays are saved for this time of year so as to attract the most attention possible. But with blockbusters such as Star Wars & Spectre no doubt featuring in many of the minor categories, certainly the nominations & perhaps the winners on the American side of the Atlantic will be and have been awarded to home grown films, Spotlight very much falling into that category. And you can quite see why as the story concentrates on the city of Boston and a catholic community that was well & truly rocked by shocking child abuse scandal in the church, a story that hit the headlines while the fallout from 9/11 was still shaking both America and the wider world, this systemic abuse rife throughout the catholic church, virtually no country untouched as the closing credits of this emotive movie conclude.
So we have touched on this tale based on actual events, but what of the plot of the picture and of the contributions of the cast? Well as we mentioned, it’s based in Boston and surrounds a team of reporters within the larger newspaper publication company called The Boston Globe, an investigatory media machine with its own controversial & head turning column as part of the paper, called Spotlight. And amidst the team working on a long lasting project and saying farewell to an old colleague, in comes a new editor for The Globe, Marty Baron understatingly yet perfectly played by Liev Schreiber, who positions a potential a storyline he feels Spotlight should investigate, considerable claims of systemic covering over of abuse in the church. So the team, Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha (Rachel McAdams), Matty (Brian d’Arcy James) and their editor, Walter Robinson, better known as “Robbie”, played by Michael Keaton, set out to investigate this case which the Globe itself buried years before. With touching portrayals by a succession of victims, intermixed with conflicting attorney scenes, including with defending commercial lawyer Eric Macleish (Billy Crudup), the church’s own, Jim Sullivan, excellently acted by Jamie Sheridan, and Stanley Tucci who plays passionately prosecuting attorney Mitchel Garabedian in one of the stand-out performances of this picture, the plot to uncover this abuse is interrupted by 9/11 which gives the film considerable timepiece gravity, while the emotive power of the subject keeps you hooked, not least Mike’s (Ruffalo’s) outburst as the hard evidence is revealed, the trailer below saving us from spilling the whole story.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56jw6tasomc [/youtube]
With a truly phenomenal performance from Mark Ruffalo who, for us, was also a leading light in the film “Now You See Me”, if he is not nominated for & lifts an Oscar, at least in a supporting role, he should feel robbed, as his showing in the screenplay is head & shoulders above supposed lead Michael Keaton who, for us as he did in “Birdman” overacts to the point of off-putting proportions, Ruffalo in “Spotlight” as Norton did in “Birdman” completely stealing Keaton’s thunder. Indeed, with strong & sterling performances from much of the main cast, not least Stanley Tucci who, when we first saw “Spotlight” found ourselves scratching our head to remember where & in which film we had seen him before, the penny dropping all too late as it was, of course, “The Hunger Games” anthology where he starred as game host headliner Caesar Flicker, his prolific portrayal of steadfast & stalwart solicitor in this superb “Spotlight” screenplay only second to Ruffelo’s as the best, and by a measured mile over the rest. Add to that, the more than plausible as well as perfectly pitched performances from relatively new us our eyes faces Rachael McAdams & Liev Schrieber, along with veteran to the silver screen John Slattery, one other outstanding contribution comes from Jamey Sheridan who plays the attorney covering up & defending the church’s appalling acts, he wiping the floor with Keaton in each & every scene they appear, as do most of the actors to be honest.
Yet despite Keaton, for all of these other reasons we have stated, “Spotlight” deserves to be a headline happening on the cinema circuit and will also no doubt prove to be play a prominent part in proceedings at the Oscar’s as well as the other major awards ceremonies on the near horizon. And while it is very much in the bosom of the American architype and, naturally, historical importance of this superpower country’s history, the mere inclusion of 9/11 gives it gravitas that will win the hearts of its homeland homagers as well as others, after all, it is based within a timeframe that encapsulates what is, without doubt THE most terrible time in its history, the downing of the twin towers by terrorists giving “Spotlight” resounding relevance to a period so many people will remember eternally. However, the film’s portrayal of the sheer scandal of this child abuse within the church has much more & immense importance in this mesmeric movie. Indeed, as a sufferer of sexual molestation as a child by a much older adult, a period in our life that has, until now, remained a complete secret, this film not only has considerable personally emotional connections but on plenty of parts during both screenings we saw, drew tearful moments to the point of fighting them back in embarrassment, although such is the power of this movie on occasions, you cannot help but be moved by its motives. It therefore goes without saying that “Spotlight” gets our resounding recommendation, a friend affirming our view when he asked how we would rate it, we immediately concluding 4 ½ out of five stars, or 9.5 out of 10 in IMDb terms, the only let down for us being Keaton; let’s hope he doesn’t win the Oscar. (DISCO MATT)
