Spotlight shines a welcome light

I think it was Damon Runyon who said the race doesn’t always go to the swift, or the battle to the strong; but that’s the way the smart money bets. He was right. But he would also have to acknowledge the sheer visceral thrill that comes when the expected result is overturned; the moment when the little guy wins. It is that moment that Spotlight builds to for a whisker over two hours and will have you metaphorically punching the air when it pulls it off.

Let’s be clear though; this is a battle between the forces of the media, in the shape of The Boston Globe, and the forces of authority, in the shape of the Roman Catholic Church. The Globe is by no means a little guy – it is one of America’s most famous newspapers, and deservedly so – but it is very much on the side of right. On the other side we have the Catholic Church which has for years been covering up and, in some cases, tacitly enabling, sexual abuse by its clergy. When the Globe’s investigative section Spotlight is charged by incoming editor Live Schreiber with examining the story, battle is joined.

What I love about this film is its complete lack of bombast. The tone is established in a key scene where the new editor is invited to meet the Cardinal of Boston (Len Cariou) to literally kiss his ring and receive his imprimatur. Cariou tells Schreiber that the city flourishes ‘when its great institutions work together’, Schreiber politely demurs asserting his newspaper’s independence. It is a brutal examination in the use of soft power and political leverage and this notion of these two titans tussling for supremacy while their foot soldiers, journalists on one side and lawyers on the other, battle in the trenches dominates the film.

Spotlight is never exploitative but it does not shrink from confronting its abominable subject. It moves with the dogged certainty of a well-crafted thriller as, one by one, the obstacles are overcome and the truth is finally exposed. Ironically the film is written and directed by Tom McCarthy who played a corrupt newspaperman in the final series of The Wire. Visually and narratively McCarthy brings this world to life in a film which is thrillingly mundane, and I mean that as a compliment.

The real joy of the film is in its ensemble cast. I love watching great actors do what they do best and the delight of this ensemble is in its generosity. No one hogs the lines, no one steals the lens, this is a wonderfully supportive group of superlative actors working in harmony to tell an important story to as wide an audience as possible.

There is no doubt that having Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and Stanley Tucci above the line will bring in an audience, but this is a team effort. There are so many glorious moments; Schreiber’s stillness, Cariou’s unctuousness, and Tucci’s passion no name a few. If you have to pick a standout, then it would have to be Keaton as a veteran newshound who has walked both sides of the street; like many of the Globe’s staff he is a Catholic and like many of them he has gone along to get along. It is this knowledge of previous venality that drives him to the performance of his career.

Spotlight is the story of a victory but it is a small one in a larger battle which tragically is still being fought. In the meantime, it puts down a marker as a terrific, grown-up film for grown-up audiences.