Thursday, February 11, 2016

Review of SPOTLIGHT: Controversial Crusade

February 11, 2016




Initially, I feared that maybe "Spotlight" may not be shown in local theaters. This would be despite all its acclaim and awards buzz it has been receiving, not the least of which are the 6 Oscar categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing) for which it had been nominated. The film painted the Catholic Church in a very bad light so it was highly probable that there would be a lobby to ban the showing of this controversial film. But fortunately that was not the case, it was shown locally after all (rated appropriately as R-16), opening on an Ash Wednesday of all days. 

While the underlying issue in "Spotlight" was about child-molesting Catholic priests and how the all-powerful hierarchy (both religious and legal) was covering up for them, but this was not exactly what the film was about. The main focus is really on a group of newspapermen from the Boston Globe called "Spotlight" and their remarkable tenacity and boldness in researching, writing and publishing this contemptible scandal to the public.

This film had won Outstanding Performance by a Cast in the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and rightly so. Their fluid ensemble acting was amazing to witness on that screen. While only Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams earned Oscar nods as supporting performers, but really it was a grand team effort to pull this through. Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci also turn in admirable work as usual of them. There were no scenes with excessive histrionics, no illnesses, no physical deformities, no deaths or any other highlight that shouts "great acting". Instead, the performances of all these actors were simply able to realistically convey the passion, anger, and frustration experienced by intrepid investigative reporters in the line of their duty. 

Aside from the acting, the film is a director's showcase. Directing a film involves the formation of an artistic vision based on the script on hand, then guiding the cast and crew into realizing that vision. For a film like this which is all complex talk, it is up to the director to create excitement and tension as he controls those critical aspects of pacing, sequencing and editing. In the hands of a lesser director, this could well have been a boring and uninteresting. However, director Tom McCarthy managed to wrestle the contentiously difficult material of "Spotlight" and translate it into a vivid, engaging and very thrilling film. 9/10.


15 comments:

  1. wow.. 9/10 is a wonderful rating and movie looks really impressive with a great story line.

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  2. haven't heard of this movie in my local cinema yet. i do hope it would be released in my country. will love to catch this!

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  3. Interesting plot and amazing performances must be making this movie work. Will watch surely :)

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  4. I've seen the trailer of this one and I find it interesting. I hope to watch this in the movies.

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  5. I might wartch this film just because if rachelle mcadams,lol but seriously I might enjoy watching this coz of the story plot. Interesting

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  6. This seems like something I will want to watch. was it based on true events? I might go check out if it's out in my local cinemas!

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  7. Interesting theme! Very bold plot indeed. Thanks for the review! :)

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  8. Thanks for the review Fred, always a pleasure reading your reviews :)

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  9. Wow this is a the type show that I love to watch. I am not sure it will screen in my country or not.

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  10. That's a really high rating. The movie is really great, I love a film that was carried entirely by actors and not by special effects or CGI. It's totally worth watching.

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  11. I don't think I've ever heard of tis movie but that's high rating you've given it. I guess it must be a must watch. I'll have to check this out then.

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  12. The plot of this movie is interesting so as the casts.Would love to watch such kinda interesting movies.

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  13. How come we don't get to hear to these star cast movies? I love character- based acting. This movie sounds like a must watch, for it's cast and controversial topic. Thanks for sharing!

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  14. It's a rather controversial theme. It's good that it was given a nod as these things do happen and people should have an open mind on movies like this.

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  15. Never heard of this film but I will definitely watch this once an online copy is available. I love investigative films and this one is something I look forward to seeing soon.

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