Spotlight tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. The year long investigation reveals a ten-year cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s legal and religious establishments shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

In 2001, news editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) of The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists known as “Spotlight” to investigate allegations against John Geoghan, a priest accused of molesting over 80 boys. Spotlight is a four member investigative news team, Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton),Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) , Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matty Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James).

The main character Walter “Robby” Robinson was trapped between his allegiance to his Catholic Church and his professional obligation to expose the horrible things that were happening.

Throughout the film obstacles continued to get in the way of the investigation and stalling the story from being written. Obstacles such as victims not wanting to come forth and give their testament, lawyers of the Catholic church refusing to release crucial statements and proof. Files were stolen, crucial files were held confidential instead of public, certain reports being released to the public which could lead to other newspapers reading them and ruining Spotlights entire investigation.

After watching this movie, I was very taken back. The film had a great story line, easy to follow along. I would recommend this to my friends and family; however, I feel it’s not for everyone. As a journalist, I related to the characters and the challenges they went through to get their story. — Vanessa Wood

There was always something in the way but the spotlight team was focused, determined to work hard and tell this story not only for the paper but because they cared, and for every single person who was to afraid to open up and tell the truth about their abuse.

The team is determined to find proof that the Roman Catholic church has been covering up sexual abuse for over 10 years.

The movie was directed by Academy Award Nominee Tom McCarthy, produced by Michael Sugar, Nicole Rocklin, Steve Golin, Michael Bederman, and Blye Pagon Faust, and released by Open Road Films on November 6 2015.

After watching this movie, I was very taken back. The film had a great story line, easy to follow along. I would recommend this to my friends and family; however, I feel it’s not for everyone. As a journalist, I related to the characters and the challenges they went through to get their story. The way their editor pushed the journalists to investigate the story in the first place and throughout the movie he told them dig deeper within the story and look at the bigger picture, the system as a whole instead of just certain individuals.

The following facts were cited in the film’s closing credits. Throughout 2002 the spotlight team published close to 600 stories about the scandal. 249 priests and brothers were publicly arrested of sexual abuse within the Boston Archdiocese. The number of surviving victims in Boston is estimated to be well over 1,000. Major abuse scandals have been uncovered in over 200 cities across the globe.

To this day these horrifying violations are still occurring, and not only in the United States but all across the world.

For more about Spotlight, check out this article by the Boston Globe.

If you or anyone you know has been abused or is currently being abused please call: 775-784-8090