X
- 2015
- R
- Open Road Films (II)
- 2 h 8 m
- 2015
- R
- Open Road Films (II)
- 2 h 8 m
Summary Spotlight tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long inves...
Directed By: Tom McCarthy
Written By: Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
- 2015
- R
- Open Road Films (II)
- 2 h 8 m
- 2015
- R
- Open Road Films (II)
- 2 h 8 m
Spotlight
8.1
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Summary Spotlight tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long inves...
Directed By: Tom McCarthy
Written By: Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Where to Watch
Coming Soon
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 45 Critic Reviews
93
96% Positive
43 Reviews
43 Reviews
4% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim Based on 45 Critic Reviews
93
96% Positive
43 Reviews
43 Reviews
4% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 25, 2015
With Spotlight, we get a reminder of the vital importance of an independent, professional press to any community.
Nov 12, 2015
A snapshot of what happened at a particular time and place and doesn't try to glamorize its subjects or make any larger points about what it all means. By refusing to do so, by celebrating the process over the outcome and the work over the reward, it becomes a special experience, a movie that matters.
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 1,091 User Ratings
8.1
89% Positive
967 Ratings
967 Ratings
7% Mixed
71 Ratings
71 Ratings
5% Negative
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim Based on 1,091 User Ratings
8.1
89% Positive
967 Ratings
967 Ratings
7% Mixed
71 Ratings
71 Ratings
5% Negative
53 Ratings
53 Ratings
Oct 13, 2024
"Spotlight" does justice to an incredible true story through its faith towards and deep understanding of the real events. It uses an eye opening experience to witness the discovery of this massive scandal with the catholic church, showing not just how important investigative journalism is but all the interesting vivid details the went into breaking the story. Tom McCarthy creates what is perhaps the greatest journalist procedural of the modern era. The film opens with this jaw dropping prologue in 1976, at a Boston Police station as two policemen discuss the arrest of Father John Geoghan for child molestation. A high-ranking cleric talks to the mother of the victims, assuring her that Geoghan will no longer work at her parish and asking her to keep quiet for the sake of the Church. An assistant district attorney visits the precinct and tells the policemen to keep the arrest secret from the press. The mother declines to press charges and Geoghan is quietly released and sent to another parish but this of course is only the begining. The film has quite the ensemble cast with some really great performances. Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo really capture the essence of their characters Robby Robinson and Michael Rezendes and closely embody many details including speech and physical mannerisms. Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci were also standouts with their characters. Rachel McAdams is great too as Sacha Pfeiffer, even though she's not doing anything we haven't seen her do before she brings an enormous empathy and understanding to the team with her subtle. The film isn't doesn't quite go very deep into any particular character which is mostly forgivable because what the characters are tackling is much bigger than they are. Even though we don't feel the story much through any particular character, we feel it effectively as a whole. That isn't to say that the performances lack depth, however. Several of the actors do a great job of conveying a passion for justice in their work, particularly Keaton, McAdams and Ruffalo, who are the clear and equal standouts in the film. Tom McCarthy is great at making the audience feel like they're really experiencing this investigation as it unfolds. It's hard to find wasted screen time as the story is constantly moving. The screenplay constructed by McCarthy and co-writer Josh Singer, which is apparently incredibly accurate, is concise and full of intelligent and witty dialogue that propels each minute of this thriller paced drama. Watching the film, we are put right in the center of several major discoveries like just how big of a problem child molestation is in the Catholic Church without showing it in explicit graphic detail and how the church has gotten an entire country to sweep the scandal under the rug. It shows how such a large situation can go unnoticed by the word, despite its massive size, and this is a shocking discovery that we make as the Spotlight crew does. The level on filmmaking on display for an independent budget is really extraordinary. The cinematography from Masanobu Takayangi (who also shot "Black Mass" this year) is exquisite with way the camera moves through the news room of the Boston Globe with handheld shots and great coverage of the Boston area. The editing from Tom McArdle (McCarthy's longtime collaborator) is incredibly fast paced and moves the story along in an engaging way that is well paced and well executed through each scene. There's a scene where two confessions from two victims are taking place at the same time and the way it cuts back and forth to each one without undercutting the emotion is astonishing. The score by Howard Shore is one his best in years. It creates a score that is both hard-charging and determined yet also mournful and restrained. Relying mostly on piano, it almost has the feel of a dirge and provides a constant reminder of innocence lost but it feels honest and earnest in all the right ways. Shore's work here gives the film much of its propulsive, ever-searching energy, pushing you along with the journalists as they try to make their case, relying on a simple, almost minimalist piano-led collection of instruments. It’s as sober, understated, unsentimental and sophisticated as the film it works for, and yet it doesn’t feel like Shore’s restraining himself: Indeed, as different as it is from his other work ("The Lord of the Rings and The Silence of the Lambs), it feels like he’s the only composer who could have written it. The film is a perfect homage to investigative journalism, honoring the heroes of the Spotlight team and the victims who come forward to help justice surface. "Spotlight" shows that the time to act is the time when you're told to keep silent. This is a really incredible story and it's great to feel that McCarthy and his crew know it. It would be hard to imagine a film depicting the many layers of how this story was uncovered and celebrating those who sought out the truth better than "Spotlight" does.
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Jan 2, 2025
From beginning to end, I am engaged in this incredibly important film. Very thorough, very well paced.
Report
Nov 5, 2015
Spotlight doesn't call attention to itself. Its screenplay is self-effacing, its accomplished direction is intentionally low key, and it encourages its fistful of top actors to blend into an eloquent ensemble.
Sep 22, 2015
It’s a more subtle, damning film for implicating the media – as much as the church, the courts, the legal profession and other Boston institutions – in the systematic, wider cultural cover-up it describes.
Sep 3, 2015
Like so many films consumed with the minutiae of daily journalism, Spotlight is a magnificently nerdy process movie — a tour de force of filing-cabinet cinema, made with absolute assurance that we’ll be held by scene after scene of people talking, taking notes, following tips, hounding sources, poring over records, filling out spreadsheets, and having one door after another slammed in their faces.
Jan 25, 2016
A rigorously detailed telling of an important story that never loses sight of the human devastation. Terrific turns from the ensemble cast.
Sep 3, 2015
This material cant help but be interesting, even compelling up to a point, but its prosaic presentation suggests that the story's full potential, encompassing deep, disturbing and enduring pain on all sides of the issue, has only begun to be touched.
Feb 26, 2022
I am not Catholic (Orthodox) and not really someone who goes to church or has saint icons or crosses all over the place but this story truly reminds people how corrupt the world is.
Even someone considered to be the symbol of good does something unspeakable as sexual misconduct on children.
Like it was said in the movie "Its the whole country, its the whole world!"
The casting is on point. Michael Keaton killed it.
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Sep 18, 2022
This film's lack of flair makes it feel more like a Wikipedia entry than a piece of art. The only reason that this movie is compelling is because of the inherently interesting nature of its source material. There is barely anything that the director or actors do to enhance the film, or add flavor to it. It relies too heavily on the viewer's interest in the events it recounts, and it doesn't make any attempt to create further intrigue.
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Best Performance: Mark Ruffalo
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Apr 13, 2022
By far the best movie of it's year Spotlight's veteran and talented cast give us an amazing detailed look at one of the biggest church scandals. Gripping and moving for it's entire duration spotlight reminds of how an independent and fearless press now more then ever, is so important.
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Dec 27, 2015
I saw this movie with my mom and we both agreed that is was bad. It did not grab my attention. I don't really understand why everyone loves this movie. Exposing the Catholic Church has never been so dull. One of the worst movies of the year.
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Production Company
- Participant
- First Look Media
- Anonymous Content
- Rocklin/Faust
- Open Road Films (II)
- Entertainment One
- Topic Studios
Release Date Nov 6, 2015
Duration 2 h 8 m
Rating R
Tagline Break the story. Break the silence.
Website http://spotlightthefilm.com/
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Wins & 6 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 3 Nominations
Satellite Awards
• 4 Wins & 8 Nominations
