AUSTRALIA
Herald Sun
Spotlight (M)
Director: Thomas McCarthy (Win Win)
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci.
Rating: ****1/2
Some kept hoping, while others kept preying
Both a cry from the heart for victims of sexual abuse and a vivid reminder of the fading art of investigative journalism, Spotlight is deservedly one of the frontrunners for the next Best Picture Oscar.
Superbly acted and scripted, this powerful factual drama tells the true story of The Boston Globe’s 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning expose of systematic molestation of the young by Catholic priests.
The role played by the higher reaches of the Catholic Church in keeping a cover-up firmly in place for several decades became a crucial focus for the Globe.
The end result was a series of revelations which shocked America — and also, the general public’s perception of organised religion — to its foundations.
Many of the Globe’s key findings have since been echoed in disturbingly similar scenarios all over the world, including right here in Australia.
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