Spotlight

This review may contain spoilers!

I don't think I've ever given a film so high a rating for standing on the merit of it's plot and cast alone. I would give Spotlight a 9/10.

The plot of this film is such a great investigative study of the corruption and criminal system implemented within the Catholic Church, this is honestly a horrifying story that will hit most audience members pretty hard whether you're Catholic or not. As the film progresses you can't help but become more and more hooked upon the story, the pacing moves almost effortlessly as you become more attached to the findings of the investigation. I can't really express how much of an emotional reaction this film will illicit from you, it's filled with shocking revelations and a trip down a particularly nasty rabbit hole.

Michael Keaton, who played Walter 'Robby' Robinson, is someone I really enjoyed in this film once his character really jumped into the investigation; Keaton really showed this change quite well and suddenly his drive and determination were completely fascinating. Rachel McAdams, who played Sacha Pfeiffer, had some of the best scenes of actual investigative journalism; I liked seeing McAdams out in the field questioning victims and those affiliated with the crimes due to the way she could always create a great emotional response with her fellow cast members. Liev Schreiber, who played Marty Baron, played a role I don't normally see him in but one I enjoyed immensely; Schreiber's soft spoken yet hard working role was one that you really respect in this film. John Slattery, who played Ben Bradlee Jr, was the perfect person to play a gruff leader in this film; Slattery and Keaton shared some great chemistry and scenes within this film. Stanley Tucci, who played Mitchell Garabedian, was a character that you really see evolve throughout this film; I enjoyed seeing him so caged and opposed to interacting with Ruffalo at the start of this film but by the end he is emotional and so filled at rage aimed at the Church. Jamey Sheridan, who played Jim Sullivan, plays a lot of mystery around his character to the extent you don't need if he'll become a protagonist or an antagonist by the end of the film; some of the best scenes of the film are between him and Keaton. Neal Huff, who played Phil Saviano, really played a great survivor role in this film; I liked seeing the desperate outrage he expressed at the journalist characters for not reporting his story sooner. Billy Crudup, who played Eric Macleish, is quite a guarded smooth talker in this film which I really enjoyed; however the scene in which he snaps and confronts Keaton and McAdams with the knowledge that he already sent the Globe a list of dirty priests is one of the best of the film.

However the best performance of the film came from Mark Ruffalo, who played Mike Rezendes. Ruffalo gets this character and this film, you feel that from the first minute he;s onscreen. There is so much energy in his performance, this earnest desire to report on the big and important stories. Throughout Spotlight Ruffalo gets more and more frantic in his quest for the truth and mor exasperated at every hurdle that you share his frustration in many scenes. Ruffalo shared great chemistry with everyone he interacts with in this film and really does quite well to stand out in a film that is really an ensemble feature. My favourite scene of the film is the one in which Ruffalo expresses his downright anger and outrage that they can't write their story yet when so many corrupt priests are harming children in Boston, it's one of the most emotional and raw moments of the film.

The score for this film is repetitive and a little dull; I feel that there was more room to make a score that helped heighten the shocking nature of Spotlight. The cinematography has the potential to be quite good, unfortunately often the way the framing is set up brings out the worst of the shots. The editing is the worst quality of the film, the transitions are weak and quite jarring in a few places.

Brian d'Arcy James, who played Matt Carroll, is the only weak performance in the Spotlight investigative team; he lacks screen presence and is often forgettable in many of the scenes that he's in. Paul Guilfoyle, who played Pete Conley, is a character who enters part way through the film; unfortunately he's introduced too late and because we don't know enough about his role don't really feel the wight of him as an antagonist. Len Cariou, who played Cardinal Law, is an antagonist who wasn't given enough screen presence; I felt that the one thing that would have heightened this film further is seeing and understanding a bit more of the antagonists.