Spotlight is a powerful film that tells the story of the Spotlight Investigative Team, an investigative wing of The Boston Globe newspaper, and their discovery of rampant and systemic child sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Catholic church. Starring the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAddams, the movies gives a thrilling account of the investigative process that went into the Spotlight piece, as well as the obstacles the reporters had to overcome to bring the truth forward.
I’d say my favorite scene of the movie is when the team is speaking with Richard Sipe, who was a psychologist with the church that worked to reform the pedophile priests, and they discover that the story is much bigger than they thought. Previously, they had been working off a list from another source, which only had 13 names on it, but Sipes estimated that 6% of priests in Boston could have a history of sexual abusing children. The estimate came out to 90 priests, of which the team found 87 names. I loved this scene because it shows the importance of investigative journalism and that there can be more to a story than you initially think.
Overall, I believe that Spotlight deserves the praise it gets. Though some parts may be a bit dramatized, I think that it helps the movie keep you on the edge of your seat. At the end, I was thankful that there are people out there willing to dedicate their lives to the truth.