Mark Schilling

Superb in every way. The understated quality of the film -- including the score why Howard Shore -- only serve to heighten the abject horror of the subject matter. I've seen this film three times and cannot think of one thing I would change. Ruffalo's one scene of outrage, precisely because it occurs in an otherwise low-key atmosphere, really resonates. In some ways the film may bring to mind elements of "All the President's Men." But in this case, it wasn't just a handful of burglars seeking to get dirt on a political rival. The scope of the crimes, as shown in the final listings, beggars the imagination. And not only those who committed the crimes, but those who knew and, for whatever reason, shrugged. The almost unbelievable power of the Church; the lack of any sense of self-regarding triumph among those on the Spotlight team but, instead, a kind of weary disgust...it all fits beautifully. Certainly an important film and one, thank goodness, that was awarded the Academy Award it so deeply deserves.