In honor of Patriots Day Weekend, I’m watching and reviewing movies set and/or filmed in my hometown, Boston, Massachusetts.
Title: Spotlight
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Director: Tom McCarthy
Production Company: Participant Media | First Look Media | Anonymous Content | Rocklin/Faust Productions | Spotlight Film
Summary/Review:
The Spotlight unit at The Boston Globe – Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) – were a group of investigative journalists who did in depth research and writing on a specific topic. Prompted by new managing editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), an outsider who doesn’t follow how things are supposed to “work” in Boston, they Spotlight team follows up on the arrest of Catholic priest John Geoghan for sexually assaulting children. They learn that there are at least 90 priests in the Archdiocese of Boston who have molested children and that Bernard Cardinal Law, Archbishop of Boston (Len Cariou) knew about them and moved them around to other parishes to cover up their crimes.
The movie is procedural in style, very much like All the President’s Men, as the journalists interview survivors, challenge lawyers, and look for evidence in public records. The dialogue and the acting are very strong with the ensemble cast also including John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, and Billy Crudup. The events depicted in this story happened a few years after I moved to Boston and remind me of the shocking revelations of the extent of the crimes. I’m also reminded that Geoghan was assigned to the church around the corner from my current residence back in the 1970s.
In the decades since this scandal broke we’ve learned that other institutions besides the Catholic Church have covered up for unspeakable crimes betraying a general rot that comes with power. We’ve also seen the resources put towards investigative journalism dwindle which makes me worried for the future.
Rating: ****
Panorama of the Mountains 