Spotlight

I have been waiting anxiously/patiently for Spotlight to make its way to Denton. My cousin Phaedra already saw it in SLC (oh how I miss the Broadway...) and raved about it. What's strange is that I can't really explain why I was excited for this movie, other than the fact that it received great reviews. I don't even remember seeing a preview for it. I've since watched the previews, and I'm glad I didn't see any of them prior to the film. Not because they reveal too much, but there is something awesome about going into a movie with no notion of what to expect.

The movie did not disappoint. Spotlight is an investigative team at The Boston Globe. They research long-form stories that takes months to put together. When a new editor arrives, they are pushed to write a story on the Catholic Church and the allegations of sexual abuse of young children by priests. It's a difficult subject to face, as Boston is very much a Catholic city.

I really liked the film. It's understated, which fits the topic well. There's no flashy camera movements or overt screen positioning (and believe me, I love those things; like the it's-all-one-take flashiness of Birdman and the tracking shots of The Social Network). What really makes this film work is the actors. All of them are terrific. Seriously, all of them.

My favorite would possibly be Liev Schreiber as the new Boston Globe editor, Marty Baron. He's quiet and thoughtful, and Schreiber plays the role with lots of restraint. He's a forceful actor, and is generally in much showier roles. Such as the lead in Showtime's Ray Donovan (although I'll always remember him as Stuart from Kate and Leopold).

Then there's Mark Ruffalo. He's one of those actors who is good in everything. He has a moment in the film when he reaches his breaking point and starts yelling at those around him, including his boss. It's heartfelt, emotional, brutal, a man trying so hard to do what's right.

Stanley Tucci, another fabulous actor who easily goes between playing Julia Childs' husband to host extraordinaire Caesar Flickerman to a German doctor who creates special serums (on a side note, can we talk abut how there are a ton of superheros in this film - Michael Keaton was Batman and Birdman, Mark Ruffalo is the Hulk, Liev Schreiber played that thing opposite Wolverine, John Slattery is Howard Stark), plays a lawyer trying to do the right thing. Then there's Billy Crudup playing another lawyer, sorta sleazy on the other end of the spectrum.

The movie is straightforward, not just in its directing style but also its storytelling. It reminds me of Frost/Nixon, which just so happened to be my choice for Best Pic that year (it lost to Slumdog Millionaire) and Apollo 13 (those are both Ron Howard films....). The film not only focuses on the larger story of the cover up by the Catholic Church, but also the personal stories of each of the reporters and how their faith and relationship to the Church is affected by the scandal.

Faith is an interesting thing. One of the characters in the film sums it up best in how he deals with the issue: My faith is in the eternal, I try to separate the two.