As usual, the Academy, in an extension of last year’s egregious lapses, has nominated yet another round of completely homogenous films for the Oscars. The main complaint is that these films are peopled only by white stars and that the Academy’s main voter base, which consists also of mostly 60-year-old white males, is completely tone deaf about diversity, leaving out important films and performances by non-white actors year after year.
Spotlight is one of those all white films that has been nominated this year. While I acknowledge that this is a film about a certain white, majority Catholic population in Boston, that fact ought not to negate its very important story - namely the massive, landmark exposé of the extent of paedophilia that was (and is) rampant within the Catholic Church, the hundreds of priests who are guilty of these transgressions, and most importantly, the Church’s active cover up of these crimes that has affected thousands of people.
‘Spotlight’ is the name of the deep investigative arm of the Boston Globe – a department that I am happy to report still exists. The film is set in 2001 when the Globe was in transition; lay-offs seemed imminent as the new editor Marty Baron, played by the wonderful Liev Schreiber, both a non-Bostonian and a Jew, is assessing the Globe’s efficiency.
Astonishingly, it is this taciturn outsider who suggests that ‘Spotlight’ should start looking into the Church’s alleged cover ups, sparking consternation even within ‘Spotlight’s hard core four person team – most of whom grew up Catholic, and some of whom still harbour much affection for the church.
This is a profound, methodical, procedural about investigative journalism that outlines every rigorous step that the team takes as they struggle with the terrible fallout of child molestation, perpetrated by individuals with seeming impunity, and understand with growing horror the extent of real life abuse over decades.
The ensemble cast consisting of Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Stanley Tucci, and John Slattery play their characters without histrionics, holding to the ethos of a film that is made to serve the story and not the drama, a discipline often lacking in Hollywood films.
Spotlight is riveting, important, extremely relevant and it will make you gasp. This is a film about the story that finally got told, and now thanks to the writer and director, Tom McCarthy, it is getting the continuing attention it deserves. If only all mainstream films vying for awards could be as rigorous as Spotlight, without the self-righteousness that sometimes comes from trying to be “profound”.