Spotlight

2015 Directed by Tom McCarthy

Break the story. Break the silence.

The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

Mark Ruffalo Michael Keaton Rachel McAdams Liev Schreiber John Slattery Stanley Tucci Brian d'Arcy James Gene Amoroso Billy Crudup Maureen Keiller Paul Guilfoyle Len Cariou Neal Huff Michael Cyril Creighton Laurie Heineman Tim Progosh Elena Wohl Doug Murray Sharon McFarlane Jamey Sheridan Robert B. Kennedy Duane Murray Brian Chamberlain Michael Countryman Tim Whalen Brad Borbridge Don Allison Patty Ross Paloma Nuñez Show All…

Alternative Title

스포트 라이트

thriller drama history

129 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Evan ★★★★ 7

The same man that made The Cobbler made this. Try to wrap your mind around that. The Cobbler is so Razzie worthy that it hurts, while Spotlight will be sure to win a few Oscars (at least several nominations). These two films were only made a year apart. That has got to be one of the biggest turnarounds in cinematic history. What a great recovery. Thomas McCarthy, you sir have redeemed yourself.
Review by Karsten Runquist ★★★★ 5

The scene where the kids sing Silent Night is just....
so...
good.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 8

79/100
For a film practically built around its rock-solid cast and its controversial subject matter, I was surprised by the prevalent dedication of Tom McCarthy's Spotlight. It's an ensemble piece that isn't defined by some syrupy addition of heroism or a sanitized narrative, but by a sturdy sense of plotting and a focused array of incredible actors.
At its core, however, is an excellent screenplay that is constructed with the same hardened quest for truth as the journalists who uncovered this horrific scandal. With Howard Shore's methodical soundtrack underscoring every lead and scrap of paper uncovered, the moment-to-moment beauty of Spotlight is from its inherent devotion to the written word and what it can change.
In fact, most of the…
Review by katie ★★★★½ 2

zodiac but without murder
Review by davidehrlich ★★★½

a rock-solid, nuts and bolts piece on the disease of corruption and the undying value of journalism. earns comparisons to Zodiac and All the President's Men, but is also more modest and anonymous than either... less sticky. still, builds an immense momentum with its earnestness.
in retrospect, maybe Hebrew school wasn't so bad?
Review by Adam Kempenaar ★★★½ 10

Devoting 25 minutes to SPECTRE instead of this – whom do I confess that sin to?
Review by suzanne by leonard cohen ★★★★½

we remembered halfway through that this actually happened and we were just like (laughs nervously) what the fuck?
Review by K. Austin Collins 2

Here is when it all falls apart -- rather, shows itself becoming the film it wants, but doesn't need to be. Marty Baron (Schreiber) has just become the new editor of the Boston Globe. Boston is a Catholic town, rich with institutional history: a robust popular press, a monolithic church. Baron, newly minted as the editor of the biggest newspaper in town and a Jew to boot, must meet with Cardinal Bernard Law, the since-defamed Archbishop of Boston, because these institutions share common ground. They share a public: 53% of the Globe's readers are Catholic (according to Baron.) The news is the Church's business.
It's when Law suggests that this common ground ought to lend itself to a common understanding,…
Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★½ 1

64/100
The dude I saw on Twitter who pronounced this better than All the President's Men is insane and/or blind, but it does stake out similar ground, structurally if not (at all) formally. There's something immensely satisfying about watching journalists grab a tiny, frayed thread of a story and doggedly trace their way back to the...sweater, I guess, I didn't think this metaphor through when I started the sentence but screw it I'm way behind. Thoroughly enjoyable, but the only aspect of it that wowed me was Liev Schreiber's deliberately off-putting performance; I imagine McCarthy repeatedly telling him "Let's try that again, but give me more absolutely nothing this time."
Review by ☆ Sophie ☆ ★★★★½ 8

Two of the most chilling scenes in this film:
1. Mark Ruffalo watching kids sing Silent Night at a church as his face just looks completely disgusted
2. The end credits of all the locations in the world where they uncovered more situations of the same nature.
Spotlight isn't the kind of movie I would go out of my way and watch multiple times let alone enjoy. Growing up catholic made me closer to the topic of the film and it's why it hit harder for me. This movie qualifies as strong and intense to some degree. Be ready to digest a lot of reality and face the true reputation of a world unknown to people living in a happy bubble. And it's absolutely disgusting to know that these things are still happening today.
Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★ 4

Writing so sharp, it'll cut your ears to pieces -- and Shore's score is along the lines of something out of a lost Mogwai LP which is, like, the best thing ever.
Review by andrea🌹 ★★★★★ 1

"It's confusing, you know? To be introduced to sex like that..."
"Joe, did you ever try and tell someone?"
"Like who, a priest?"
i gasped. the first and only person i spoke to about being sexually abused as a child was a priest. he told me i should "stay away from temptation".
we need more stories like this.

Recent reviews

Review by Serena van der Woodsen ★★★★½

i love rachel mcadams in business wear
Review by Alec Greer ★★★★★

I love Rachel McAdams so so much.
Review by Cameron ★★★★½

So well made. Not sure why it’s rewatchable, but it is. Ruffalo is incredible here.
Review by javierdt ★★★

Los personajes no te generan nada, la historia, por otro lado, si. Le falta mucho desarrollo a muchos personajes, quiza es una historia demasiado grande para contar en una pelicula. De cualquier manera hay cosas buenas para rescatar.
Hubiera sido mejor hacer un documental
Review by viking ★★★★★

mark ruffalo was absolutely robbed of an academy award here
Review by julie ★★★★★

after deep psychoanalysis of myself i have determined i watch this movie when i feel i have lost control of my life
Review by djilali ★★★★½

Really enjoy movies where news outlets expose truths and this one was a huge one. This just goes to tell you how huge religion plays a part in society that they covered up so many incidents.
Review by Mary Griffin ★★★★

At times I felt sick
Review by ryanleatham ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Regina George teams up with Batman and the Hulk to take down Catholicism.
Review by Brendan McMahan ★★★★

I feel like if I knew a little bit more about journalism and law procedures, I would appreciate this film much more.
However, as it reached my ignorant dummy brain as it was, that was still a holy shit moment.
Review by Riley Morkan ★★★★

I hadn't seen Spotlight since its theatrical run before the Oscars, and I was curious how it would hold up in 2021, especially since the general public's views on the media has changed so much since the 2016 election. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I was sucked all the way back in to a story that on its surface seems very try. Unlike "All the President's Men", the movie this one is most often compared to, Spotlight does not assume that the audience already knows the whole story, instead allowing you to uncover more layers to the story along with the characters. All of the performances, Ruffalo aside, are great and totally believable. As horrific as the subject…
Review by JB ★★★★★

I simply do not have the energy to write anything controversial right now, but hey-o, fuck the Catholic church!
Also, protect our journalist at all costs.