This Friday evening I chose to attend a free screening of
the movie Spotlight. It was an
event organized by the Department of Religion at Memorial University. I went to see the film because the
story it tells, of the Boston Globe's uncovering of the systemic abuse of
children by pedophile Roman Catholic priests, interested me both as a
journalist and as someone who grew up in an Irish Catholic environment. The city I have called home since 1994
St. John's, NL, is still in 2016 struggling in the courts with the same issues
of abuse and its often tragic outcomes of denial, addiction and lives
destroyed. One of the film's most
moving moments is in the credits when all the other cities where there have
been similar investigations are listed.
It is a very long list; so long in fact that I could not bear to stay
for the discussion period after the film.
The story the film tells is well known now. What most impressed me about the film
was the restraint with which it unfolds.
This could have easily been filled with outrage and melodrama. Spotlight is surprisingly understated
and the performances of its stellar cast are reigned in. It is very hard at times to tell the
good guys from the bad guys–hard to distinguish between somebody "doing
their job" and being either a villain or a hero. Nobody is painted with a broad brush. This is the world we live in filled
with status quo, tension and consequences.
Another satisfying twist in the film was that the tragedy of
9/11 nearly derails the team of journalists' investigative efforts to tell the
story they had been working on for so many months. Fortunately, it is an eclipse of events the project recovers
from. When I looked into the
background of the film I found an interesting comment about the director Tom
McCarthy's intentions. Writer Josh Singer told Creative Screenwriting that one
of his goals for the film was to highlight the power of journalism, which he
feels has been waning. He explained, "This story isn’t about exposing the
Catholic Church. We were not on some mission to rattle people’s faith. In fact,
Tom came from a Catholic family. The motive was to tell the story accurately
while showing the power of the newsroom – something that’s largely disappeared
today. This story is important. Journalism is important, and there is a deeper
message in the story."
Amen to that.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael
Rezendes, left, stands for a photograph with actor Mark Ruffalo, who plays
Rezendes in the film "Spotlight, " as they attend the Boston-area
premiere of the film. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) ( Steven Senne )
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