Spotlight - directed by Tom McCarthy
Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, Billy Crudup, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Jamey Sheridan, Brian d'Arcy James, Paul Guilfoyle, Gene Amoroso, Len Cariou, Richard Jenkins (voice)
Screenplay: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Music Score by: Howard Shore
Cinematography: Masanobu Takayanagi
Edited by: Tom McArdle
Running Time: 129 minutes
Rated: M - Infrequent profanity & frank descriptions of sexual acts
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams), Best Editing (Tom McArdle), Best Original Screenplay (Singer and McCarthy)
Regular readers of this blog may notice a change with this post.
I have added extra information in the block of credits at the top.
This was prompted by watching "Spotlight" tonight.
Maybe it was the pace and relative low key nature of the film but I became increasingly aware of a couple of aspects of the filmmaking that deserve highlighting more.
I have added a writing credit which frankly should have been there all along but in addition there are cinematography and music score fields.
It would be reasonable to assume a film like "The Revenant" that features widely praised cinematography would have been the film that triggered the addition of that particular credit but no - it is this film.
I became acutely aware while watching "Spotlight" that it was a beautifully constructed film.
Not in the way that say "The Revenant" or "Sicario" are but in a more subtle way.
And it wasn't a realisation that took me out of the film - rather it was that I was being swept up in it surprisingly effectively.
"Spotlight" has no startling set pieces or dynamic cuts.
There are no bursts of music that instantly inject cinematic adrenaline into the film nor are there heavily stylised shots or colour grading.
It is merely meticulously shot, scored, edited, written, directed and acted.
It felt to me like "All the President's Men" or "State of Play" - the underrated Kevin McDonald movie starring Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren.
Yet it has nothing so instantly sensational as corrupt politicians, shadowy meetings in carparks and alleyways or murders to propel its story.
This is simply a very well told tale of a team of tenacious, skilled journalists trying to break the story of repeated sexual abuse cover ups within the Catholic Church.
I'll start with the acting because this really does have a top drawer cast.
I don't know who the lead here is - I suppose the tendency is to look to Michael Keaton.
He does play the leader of the newspaper team that is the centre of the film.
In reality he is just one of several actors who could equally be considered the lead.
There are two Oscar nominations for the acting in "Spotlight" and both Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams are up for Supporting role awards.
This is not really correct but then we should be used to that by now.
There is always juggling around of role descriptions to better position people for wins I guess.
(The absurd contention that "The Martian" was a comedy served it well at the Golden Globes after all)
Keaton is very, very good and follows up his Oscar nominated leading role in last years "Birdman" with more great work.
For me though it is Adams who delivers the performance that most resonated.
I have been a fan for years it is true but all personal bias aside this role really shows what many have known for a long time - she is better than a lot of the roles she is most well known for.
Yes, she is wonderful in films like "Wedding Crashers", "Mean Girls", "Midnight In Paris", "Red Eye" and both Sherlock Holmes movies.
McAdams is a glowing presence in everything that she appears.
In "Spotlight" however her extraordinary beauty isn't required.
She portrays an everyday woman married with a job that she excels at as part of a team of reporters who carefully select stories that often take years of research before going to print.
Playing Sacha, McAdams spends much of the movie tracking down and interviewing people who have disturbing stories that they may not be ready to tell.
She plays the character as compassionate, determined, loyal and yet still vulnerable.
We learn little bits and pieces about her along the way and most detail is rendered by performance and subtle clues rather than overt statements.
Of all the performances of hers I have enjoyed I am glad that this is the one that she been recognised for - it is her best.
John Slattery is unsurprisingly in top form as are Mark Ruffalo and Liev Schreiber in a smaller but no less pivotal role.
Even the smaller roles are cast perfectly with Billy Crudup's character turning out to be far more complex than it was first suggested.
Partly this is down to Crudup's history in playing charismatic, deeply flawed types but that should in no way detract from the fine work he does with this character in its own right.
Stanley Tucci gives perhaps the showiest performance with his eccentric lawyer Mitchell Garabedian.
Thanks in no part to the stellar acting work this film moves along at a pace that builds slowly and deliberately dragging the audience along as each new lead is explored to fruition.
You know a movie is good when the most exciting thing that happens is a door being shut in a reporter's face and yet you are glued to the screen, utterly gripped by it all.
Some of this for me has to do with a desire to see people who do so much wrong taken to account.
I don't understand how crimes as horrible as child molestation were allowed to continue for so long.
It must have been tempting to really go for the jugular and attack the Catholic Church but to the film's credit it merely presents the facts and allows whatever disgust the viewer is inclined to feel do this instead.
Also aiding this is the real sense of this film being set in a real place- Boston in this case.
By that I mean it feels grounded in a real place of community where crimes like those presented are impactful on everyday people.
This is never better displayed than the scene in which Matt Carroll played by Brian d'Arcy James is painstakingly researching which abusive priests have been quietly relocated to cover up their crimes and realises that two now live just around the corner from the house he shares with his wife and children.
It is one of many instances where the stark reality of the situation and the importance of what this team of reporters is doing.
In an age where journalism has often been substituted with clickbait hack pieces and Fox News variety out and out lying it is refreshing to see the profession portrayed as we would hope that it most often is.
It should be no surprise that "Spotlight" is as good as it is.
Director Tom McCarthy is an actor himself with roles in "The Lovely Bones", "2012" tv's "The Wire" and "Duplicity".
(Note that he starred with Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci in two of those)
As director he has given us the wonderful "Win Win" and the even better "The Station Agent".
He is unsurprisingly adept at drawing the very best out of actors and here again it shows very, very clearly.
The editing from his frequent collaborator Tom McArdle is top notch too.
McArdle has edited all of McCarthy's previous features and as with those he cuts the film very deliberately.
It doesn't need fast, numerous cuts to generate its tension and excitement and the editing doesn't get in the way of the natural pacing.
It is reassuring to see McArdle nominated for film editing this year for a more subtle display of the art.
Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi previously shot "Black Mass", "The Grey", "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Warrior".
He misses out on Oscar recognition but this I am sure is more to do with the lack of showiness in the work he does in "Spotlight".
Howard Shore in my view though has been robbed by not getting a nomination.
His score is layered and varied and while not intrusive manages to rise up on occasion to make its presence known with melodic ripples that perfectly augment the images and events on screen.
Regardless of those it missed out on whatever accolades this film gets it deserves.
It is a masterful piece of work in every regard and although I don't enjoy the horrific label 'important' when describing a film it is all but impossible to avoid when singing the praises of "Spotlight".
This one comes with the strongest of recommendations from me.
RATING: 89/ 100
CONCLUSION: Startlingly good. A gripping, finely crafted movie with a perfect cast and a glorious Howard Shore score. Simply great filmmaking.
Screenplay: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Music Score by: Howard Shore
Cinematography: Masanobu Takayanagi
Edited by: Tom McArdle
Running Time: 129 minutes
Rated: M - Infrequent profanity & frank descriptions of sexual acts
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams), Best Editing (Tom McArdle), Best Original Screenplay (Singer and McCarthy)
Regular readers of this blog may notice a change with this post.
I have added extra information in the block of credits at the top.
This was prompted by watching "Spotlight" tonight.
Maybe it was the pace and relative low key nature of the film but I became increasingly aware of a couple of aspects of the filmmaking that deserve highlighting more.
I have added a writing credit which frankly should have been there all along but in addition there are cinematography and music score fields.
It would be reasonable to assume a film like "The Revenant" that features widely praised cinematography would have been the film that triggered the addition of that particular credit but no - it is this film.
I became acutely aware while watching "Spotlight" that it was a beautifully constructed film.
Not in the way that say "The Revenant" or "Sicario" are but in a more subtle way.
And it wasn't a realisation that took me out of the film - rather it was that I was being swept up in it surprisingly effectively.
"Spotlight" has no startling set pieces or dynamic cuts.
There are no bursts of music that instantly inject cinematic adrenaline into the film nor are there heavily stylised shots or colour grading.
It is merely meticulously shot, scored, edited, written, directed and acted.
It felt to me like "All the President's Men" or "State of Play" - the underrated Kevin McDonald movie starring Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren.
Yet it has nothing so instantly sensational as corrupt politicians, shadowy meetings in carparks and alleyways or murders to propel its story.
This is simply a very well told tale of a team of tenacious, skilled journalists trying to break the story of repeated sexual abuse cover ups within the Catholic Church.
I'll start with the acting because this really does have a top drawer cast.
I don't know who the lead here is - I suppose the tendency is to look to Michael Keaton.
He does play the leader of the newspaper team that is the centre of the film.
In reality he is just one of several actors who could equally be considered the lead.
 |
| Rachel McAdams - Oscar nominated |
This is not really correct but then we should be used to that by now.
There is always juggling around of role descriptions to better position people for wins I guess.
(The absurd contention that "The Martian" was a comedy served it well at the Golden Globes after all)
Keaton is very, very good and follows up his Oscar nominated leading role in last years "Birdman" with more great work.
For me though it is Adams who delivers the performance that most resonated.
I have been a fan for years it is true but all personal bias aside this role really shows what many have known for a long time - she is better than a lot of the roles she is most well known for.
Yes, she is wonderful in films like "Wedding Crashers", "Mean Girls", "Midnight In Paris", "Red Eye" and both Sherlock Holmes movies.
McAdams is a glowing presence in everything that she appears.
In "Spotlight" however her extraordinary beauty isn't required.
She portrays an everyday woman married with a job that she excels at as part of a team of reporters who carefully select stories that often take years of research before going to print.
Playing Sacha, McAdams spends much of the movie tracking down and interviewing people who have disturbing stories that they may not be ready to tell.
She plays the character as compassionate, determined, loyal and yet still vulnerable.
We learn little bits and pieces about her along the way and most detail is rendered by performance and subtle clues rather than overt statements.
Of all the performances of hers I have enjoyed I am glad that this is the one that she been recognised for - it is her best.
John Slattery is unsurprisingly in top form as are Mark Ruffalo and Liev Schreiber in a smaller but no less pivotal role.
Even the smaller roles are cast perfectly with Billy Crudup's character turning out to be far more complex than it was first suggested.
Partly this is down to Crudup's history in playing charismatic, deeply flawed types but that should in no way detract from the fine work he does with this character in its own right.
Stanley Tucci gives perhaps the showiest performance with his eccentric lawyer Mitchell Garabedian.
 |
| Even smaller supporting roles are populated by great actors - Billy Crudup, Stanley Tucci, Paul Guilfoyle |
You know a movie is good when the most exciting thing that happens is a door being shut in a reporter's face and yet you are glued to the screen, utterly gripped by it all.
Some of this for me has to do with a desire to see people who do so much wrong taken to account.
I don't understand how crimes as horrible as child molestation were allowed to continue for so long.
It must have been tempting to really go for the jugular and attack the Catholic Church but to the film's credit it merely presents the facts and allows whatever disgust the viewer is inclined to feel do this instead.
Also aiding this is the real sense of this film being set in a real place- Boston in this case.
By that I mean it feels grounded in a real place of community where crimes like those presented are impactful on everyday people.
This is never better displayed than the scene in which Matt Carroll played by Brian d'Arcy James is painstakingly researching which abusive priests have been quietly relocated to cover up their crimes and realises that two now live just around the corner from the house he shares with his wife and children.
It is one of many instances where the stark reality of the situation and the importance of what this team of reporters is doing.
In an age where journalism has often been substituted with clickbait hack pieces and Fox News variety out and out lying it is refreshing to see the profession portrayed as we would hope that it most often is.
 |
| This is Spotlight's version of action and believe it or not it is gripping |
Director Tom McCarthy is an actor himself with roles in "The Lovely Bones", "2012" tv's "The Wire" and "Duplicity".
(Note that he starred with Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci in two of those)
As director he has given us the wonderful "Win Win" and the even better "The Station Agent".
He is unsurprisingly adept at drawing the very best out of actors and here again it shows very, very clearly.
The editing from his frequent collaborator Tom McArdle is top notch too.
McArdle has edited all of McCarthy's previous features and as with those he cuts the film very deliberately.
It doesn't need fast, numerous cuts to generate its tension and excitement and the editing doesn't get in the way of the natural pacing.
It is reassuring to see McArdle nominated for film editing this year for a more subtle display of the art.
Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi previously shot "Black Mass", "The Grey", "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Warrior".
He misses out on Oscar recognition but this I am sure is more to do with the lack of showiness in the work he does in "Spotlight".
Howard Shore in my view though has been robbed by not getting a nomination.
His score is layered and varied and while not intrusive manages to rise up on occasion to make its presence known with melodic ripples that perfectly augment the images and events on screen.
Regardless of those it missed out on whatever accolades this film gets it deserves.
It is a masterful piece of work in every regard and although I don't enjoy the horrific label 'important' when describing a film it is all but impossible to avoid when singing the praises of "Spotlight".
This one comes with the strongest of recommendations from me.
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