Director: Tom McCarthy
Year Released: 2015
Rating: 2.5
Encouraged by newly-hired - and a Lehigh University alum! - Martin Baron (Liev Schreiber), the investigative journalist team ("Spotlight") at the Boston Globe (including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams) look into child abuse cases surrounding Catholic priests around Boston that have long since been covered up by high-ranking members of the Church. While McCarthy assembles an astounding ensemble for this - the cast is collectively impressive and very serious - it plays out too safely (and predictably), almost like a made-for-TV movie: it's rather dry and a little too 'diligent' to make for great drama (McCarthy and Josh Singer's script feels like it's always 'checking boxes'), steadily making progress without startling the audience (I sat back in my seat during the one scene where Ruffalo's character - and it would, naturally, be Ruffalo - starts shouting, a rare scene of passion). As a celebration of journalistic integrity, however, it's a nice high-five to the men and women who tirelessly follow lead after lead and sacrifice their personal lives for a higher cause: exposing truth. Oh, and winning Pulitzers ... because that's nice too.
