Plot: What’s it about?
“If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to molest one, too.”
Ah, religion. Providing some of the world’s most deplorable people a “get out of jail free” card for as long as it’s been around. And, likely, that’ll continue. Religion, I think it goes without saying, has not and most likely never will be, a bit part of my life. I don’t scrutinize those who truly believe, but rather those who use abuse it. A friend of my family’s father stood up in his congregation and “confessed” to them that he’d had extramarital affairs with nearly 50 women. They forgave him. All was well. That’s the kind of thing that makes my blood boil. And, if anything, I think we need more films like Spotlight to show the world that those who are “devout” aren’t the holier-than-now humans they profess to be. Switching gears, I’ll say that Tom McCarthy’s film was and still is, very poignant. It’s no surprise that it won Best Picture and the film tells the story of the Boston Globe’s unearthing of the massive scandal of priests molesting young boys. This is a story that needs to be told.
We meet Walter “Robby” Robinson, the leader of the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” department. He, along with his staff: Mike (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha (Rachel McAdams) and Matt (Brian d’Arcy James) specialize in in-depth investigative reporting. And the Globe’s new editor-in-chief, Marty (Liev Schreiber), requests that the team follow up on a local priest who settled a child abuse allegation. They do. This opens up a can of worms when they discover a pattern of priests abusing kids then being shipped off to different parishes when caught. Robby, along with the paper’s deputy managing editor Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) have to ensure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed as it’s clear that this scandal extends all the way to the top of Boston’s Diocese officials.
Depending on your view of religion (or journalism), I can see why this is a polarizing movie. We know of the evil that exists out there and just because someone wears a collar and says “bless you” doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a good person. In fact, in my personal experience, it’s quite the opposite. I can imagine a double feature of watching this and Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men on a rainy afternoon. I think I’d need a drink or two after that. While the film is a work of fiction, it doesn’t deter too much from the real-life events that inspired it. The film seeks to reveal the truth and it does so more than just focusing on a news story, but it also examines society’s need to have people like Robby’s team crusade for teh facts. It might also be said that it seeks to call out the institutional mindset that allows immoral and, for lack of a better term, bad things to happen.
Video: How’s it look?
I don’t know what it is about “journalistic” films, but they all seem dated. Granted, I realize that the events in this film are supposed to take place around 2001, but Liev Schrieber’s character looks like he’s right out of All the President’s Men. Or maybe it’s just me. Shout’s disc takes the existing film and gives it a new veneer with a 1.85:1 HEVC 4K image and it’s just about all you could ask for this release. When you can read the text on the computer monitor, I’d say it contains sufficient detail. We get some picturesque shots of Boston and several scenes in the “pit” with some rather bland colors and stark white walls. It’s not bad looking, just not something that’s stylish. Then again, it’s not really supposed to be. Flesh tones are acceptable, contrast is strong leaving very little to the imagination. All in all, a good-looking picture.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack is good, but not great. Then again we have to consider the genre of this film; movies like this aren’t really made for dynamic sound. The score has a few moments when it took control, vocals (this is a very heavy dialogue-driven film) are pitch perfect and surrounds carry some ambient sound. I’m…kind of out of things to say about this one. It’s a nice-sounding track that’s sure to please, but it’s nothing too terribly memorable and won’t shake any pictures off the walls.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Shout’s disc doesn’t give us anything new, though the extras are ported over from Universal’s Blu-ray that came out in 2016.
- Uncovering the Truth: A Spotlight Team Roundtable – The “real” Spotlight team reporters reminisce about the story which is intertwined with some clips from the film. Running only 6 minutes, I felt this could have been a bit more engaging, but it’s still interesting to watch…once.
- Spotlight: A Look Inside – An even shorter feature that runs just over two minutes plays out like a glorified trailer. We get a montage of scenes from the film as well as some comments from the cast and crew (Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Tom McCarthy).
- The State of Journalism – Nearly identical to the above feature, this has the actors talking about how important it is that the “story be told” and we get pretty much the same montage of scenes from the film.
The Bottom Line
I can imagine that there are those who haven’t seen Spotlight. And I’m assuming those people never will. Having the veil taken off and witnessing the truth is too difficult for some. Spotlight is likely a Best Picture winner that will stand the test of time simply because it’s a timeless film. Shout’s disc ups the ante with a better-looking transfer than the original Blu-ray, but other than that – that’s it.
