{"id":138,"date":"2016-01-10T12:30:08","date_gmt":"2016-01-10T12:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cynicalfilmreviews.wordpress.com\/?p=138"},"modified":"2016-03-24T01:12:31","modified_gmt":"2016-03-24T01:12:31","slug":"spotlight-review-catholic-church-child-abuse-film-is-a-great-sunday-lunch-topic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinewipe.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/10\/spotlight-review-catholic-church-child-abuse-film-is-a-great-sunday-lunch-topic\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight review \u2013 Catholic Church child abuse film is a great Sunday lunch topic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"spotlight\"Child molestation! There, that should get your attention. It\u2019s awards season, and you know what that means: it\u2019s time for all the hard-hitting films that no one will be privy to until the academy gives them a golden bloke. And nothing quite screams \u2018I want an Oscar!\u2019 like a true story adaptation about the Catholic Church covering up child sex abuse. Happy New Year, everyone.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Spotlight is based on the real-life investigative journalists who, in 2001, uncovered the systemic concealment of almost 100 paedophile priests in the Boston area. They later discovered it had been happening all over the U.S. at an alarming rate for many years. It\u2019s a family film.<\/p>\n

Director and Writer, Tom McCarthy, has previously been involved in films such as Pixels, 2012, Meet The Fockers and Pixar\u2019s Up, but Spotlight is his most exhilarating project yet. We get to see reporters standing around tables looking perturbed, while other scenes show them doing exciting journalistic things, like sifting through old newspaper clippings and using the photocopier. They answer the phones sometimes too.<\/p>\n

Creating a realistic newsroom means there\u2019s little to distract from the drama of this shocking true story. It plods along at a practical pace, but it\u2019s never dull. I got angry when a retired member of the clergy openly admitted to molesting children as if it was perfectly normal, and listening to the stories of some of the victims made me want to have a shower. \u201cHow do you say no to God?\u201d says one of them \u2013 one of the many wince-worthy moments in the film. It\u2019s like an extra awkward episode of The Office, but less funny because of all the predatory priests.<\/p>\n

The cast are all very convincing at looking disturbed. Michael Keaton plays head of the Spotlight team, Walter Robinson, and apparently studied the real person\u2019s mannerisms over dinner. He did the same with a falcon for Birdman. Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams look the most distressed as Michael Rezendes and Sacha Pfeiffer. And Liev Schreiber is the gruff-voiced, Boston Globe editor, Marty Barton. He\u2019s the most sedate of the bunch, approaching the atrocities like an action hero too cool to look back at explosions.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t like Dennis Villeneuve\u2019s Prisoners where we get to see the abuse. That\u2019d be horrid. It\u2019s more matter of fact, letting the heft of the story creep you out by itself. By the time it\u2019s over, you\u2019ll have a very quotable case study to refer to when religion is the topic of debate during Sunday lunch. I\u2019m off for a bath.<\/p>\n

Potential Oscar and BAFTA winner \u2013 Best Picture<\/p>\n

3.5\/5<\/p>\n

Words by Chris Edwards<\/p>\n

Written for Live for Films<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter @CMEcontent<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris’s blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Child molestation! There, that should get your attention. 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