To watch or not to watch: A must watch for everyone, for reasons too numerous to state here.

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachael McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James, Live Schreiber, Stanley Tucci.

“Spotlight” follows the eponymous team of investigative journalists, Mike (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha (Rachel McAdams), Matt (Brian d’Arcy James) and Robby (Michael Keaton), at The Boston Globe. New editor Marty (Liev Schreiber) sees the massive potential in a story about child sex abuse by the Roman Catholic priests in the city of Boston. The plot shines a light (no pun intended) on the investigation into this story, uncovering the psychology and statistics, the sheer scale of the crime across the city, and the church’s complicity in protecting the perpetrators, in the process. It depicts the struggle of the victims, before and after the crime, the personal struggle of the journalists who uncover the truth, some of whom have personally known some of the priests as well as the glaring reality of the corruption in the Church.
This movie is a brilliant piece of cinema. The highlight remains the pull-no-punches portrayal of one of the most sensitive issues of our time. There were no heroes, no emotional speeches, just a distilled recounting of real-life events while hewing as close to the truth as possible. The film’s greatest strength is the screenplay itself, more so even than its star-studded cast, who provide very low-key, yet stellar performances. Liev Schreiber is unbelievable as the quiet, confident, outcast editor of the local newspaper, shining brightest in the minimal screen time he is afforded. The story delivers more than its fair share of shocking revelations and this is the pillar upon which this cinematic masterpiece rests.