The must-see movie that tells the true story of the Boston Catholic Church child abuse cover-up.
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“These crimes were unimaginable, and that they could’ve been countenanced and enabled by such an iconic institution, it gave us so much energy to pursue the story and get the story and make it public.” -Walter Robinson, NPR, October 2015
The movie chronicles the true story of the Boston Globe investigative team, Spotlight, uncovering just how extensive child abuse is in the Catholic Church in Boston, a political and cultural institution in the area. What started as an investigation into one priest led to the horrific discovery that child abuse was not only widespread, but systemic, involving hundreds of priests, thousands of children, and decades of cover-ups.
The investigation begins at the prompting of new editor-in-chief Marty Baron (played by Liev Schreiber), a new transplant from Florida. Some of the Spotlight team members are a little reluctant to look into the abuse at first, partially because they usually get to decide their own assignments. As the film continues, other reasons for their reluctance are hinted at. Maybe some have ties to the church and are hoping the scandal will just go away. Maybe some fear the repercussions of taking on such a massive and influential institution. It is also revealed that someone received several tips years prior that the abuse was more extensive than originally thought and dropped the ball in investigating it. By the end of the movie, the guilty party is revealed.
The movie starts out a bit slowly. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out where it was going and get used to the newsroom, which is the setting for most of the movie. However, once I got settled in, I was riveted to my seat. As the film goes on, the sense of dread in the pit of my stomach grew stronger and stronger. New cases, cover-ups, and disturbing details kept unfolding every time I thought it couldn’t get any worse.
Spotlight does an excellent job of handling sensitive subject matter in a tasteful yet honest way. There is no sugarcoating or sensationalizing of this unnerving true story. I always find movies based on true stories to be especially compelling and I usually research how strictly they measure up to the actual events. I was pleased to find out that this depiction seemed to measure up to reality pretty closely. According to History Vs. Hollywood, Spotlight reporter Sacha Pfeiffer, played by Rachel McAdams, commented, “[The script] followed what really happened. There is very little license in terms of changing things that happened along the way. So, I think they ultimately created a really real-life, authentic, true-to-history story, and I feel grateful for that.”
I would not advise taking younger children to see this movie due to the subject matter and the boredom factor. However, it may be a gateway to conversations about abuse with older children and teenagers. I rate this movie 9.5 /10 for its thoughtful handling of this delicate content complete with genuine performances from an outstanding cast.
Spotlight ends by running an extensive list of cities worldwide where similar cases of systemic abuse and cover-ups have been discovered. It is the final reminder that this is not just a movie. These incidents are not exclusive to Boston or the Catholic Church. It is a stark reminder of a worldwide societal epidemic of child abuse.
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Trailer: YouTube/Open Road Films
