SPOTLIGHT: The story behind the group of journalists who uncovered a decade’s worth of secrets hidden by the Catholic church is finally portrayed through film.
By Himadri Ratnayake, Staff Writer
There are a variety of topics that journalists cover such as politics, religion, or crimes in order to inform others of worldly events. Depending on the subject, the world of journalism can be dull or riveting, but in terms of the Spotlight team, it is rather exciting and compelling. “Spotlight” is the name of the group of journalists who unveiled years of inappropriate acts performed by priests from Catholic churches not just in Boston, Massachusetts but in other churches across the nation. They are an investigative group who was told to be as confidential as possible when digging up the cold facts for this particular story. The Spotlight team is a part of a newspaper corporation, The Boston Globe, in which they go undercover to expose the truth and acquire evidence to publish a story to the public.
The main focus of the film was to shed light on the Geoghan case, which was the court case against John Geoghan, a Catholic priest who had abused children and was placed on trial. This, however, grows into something bigger when the group discovers possibilities of more than one case involving the Catholic Church. “Spotlight” displays how one group of individuals ends the silence when no one else is capable of doing so. They became the voice for the hundreds of victims who were forced to keep quiet. The audience can see how each reporter thrives to attain evidence and facts, not just simply tell the world about this “crisis,” but to finally end the suffering of hundreds of thousands of victims, who are commemorated in the ending credits of the movie. They traveled great lengths to tell this story correctly and to gain every piece of information possible to notify citizens of the corruption that was occurring right in front of them.
The priests unbearable acts and how they have kept their secrets buried for over a decade struck curiosity in Marty Baron, the editor for Spotlight, who wanted the team to look into it. At first, suspicions of 13 child molesting priests were made, until the cold facts came that acknowledged a six percent (90 individuals) of priests in Boston. The investigation did not just look into the church, but the people who were victimized and to the people who helped the church succeed in keeping this hidden from the public.
The movie kicks off with a scene at a police station, in which the church and priests are the topic of a discussion. This foreshadows people receiving and reacting to the news on the Catholic church. Each main character in the film is based off of the Spotlight team whose roles are played brilliantly by some of Hollywood’s biggest actors: Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, and Liev Schreiber among others. Ruffalo tries his best to represent his character, Michael Rezendes, by imitating the position of Rezendes’ mouth and the style of his hair. Schreiber also follows his character, Marty Baron, with the rounded glasses and scruffy beard. The movie is suspenseful in most parts because this is a controversial topic and the audience may be unaware of what is about to happen next. Almost every scene marks the incredible journey of how each reporter accessed their data, and how they contacted any people involved in the matter to put the story together. The topic of child abuse in a Catholic church may strike interest in religious people, but it is not suitable for children. Throughout the movie, most of the actions that were described by some of the victims were disturbing and intolerable.
The movie displays a gloomy, sad feeling, but provides the audience with insight into the daily life of a journalist. Each actor represents their character well, and the real Spotlight team received Pulitzer prizes for their courageous work. Despite being turned down often by their sources, they managed to publish the story. Furthermore, the ending credits of the film provide facts on the amount of priests caught for molesting a child and the exact cities in which this wrongdoing occurred. It is a captivating film that keeps the audience going until the very end, and is definitely worth watching.