I have fallen in love with journalism all over again. Thanks to the recently released film “Spotlight,” I couldn’t be more amazed by the power journalism has to affect the lives of people all over the world by giving them a voice.
Based on an incredibly true story, the film tells a tale of how a team of investigative journalists at The Boston Globe makes it their mission to expose an extensive cover-up of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. With a fighting spirit, they work to break the silence. To break the silence, they need to break the story. And they desperately want to do it right.
Now, before I get into all of the reasons why this movie is a must-see, I will touch on the rough aspects of the film.
As far as stylistic elements go, the film is more on the conventional side. This isn’t an action film. Minimal special effects are used and it’s obvious that the focus isn’t on flashy, cinematic style. The film uses just enough editing techniques to accomplish its main goal of telling the story.
That being said, the film can be a bit slow at times. To the average viewer, reporters searching through church directories and entering data into a spreadsheet may not exactly be thrilling tasks to watch. However, as a journalist, I found these sequences intriguing because of the important role these tasks play in accomplishing the team's goal.
Aside from these minor aspects, the film does an amazing job of showing how journalism can change the world. And, I truly believe it can.
With all of its pain and urgency, the film emphasizes journalists doing what they do best: revealing the truth. Although I left the theater feeling as though the team of journalists resembled absolute heroes, the film doesn’t make them out to be. It focuses on how they care about telling the truth, doing their job well and ultimately giving people a voice to make a difference.
At the end of the film, intertitles list hundreds of cities around the world where child abuse within the Catholic church were uncovered because of this team’s investigation were shown. I swear, at this moment, everyone in the theater went into complete shock while staring at the screen in silence.
An overall moving and inspiring experience, the film is a must-see and I would 10/10 recommend it. Every minute is definitely worth your time.
