This is such a phenomenal film. The soundtrack. The acting. The script. The authenticity. I think that liev schreiberand Rachel Mcadams both give their best performances of their careers in Spotlight. Mark Ruffallo should have won an Oscar for his performance. "It's time! It's time!". That moment released so much angst and gave me chills. Michael Keaton was also fantastic, of course. Howard Shore gave so much life to the movie through music and it rivals the work that he did on The Lord of the Rings.10/10 5 Stars Two thumbs up Must watch Best film Oscar winner!I rest my case.

When I watched this movie it was like watching myself. The survivor of such horrendous abuse, to then being silenced like it was nothing. I watched and nodded along to the actors portraying the survivors. But for me it was not the Catholic church that covered up my abuse. It was another religious group. What got me in this story was, that it was not just me it happened to. This is OUR story. It has been going on for decades. Probably even before media was a thing in a world where children were meant to be seen and not heard. I believe that children should be seen and equally heard. The monster for me was not meant to be my leader or my father (biological father sad but true) The monster was meant to be the imaginary being under my bed. The movie itself was fantastic, and maybe it's because I am a survivor I don't know, but felt connected to the story. It is rare for movies to do that to me. The actors playing these roles were absolutely amazing. I like Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams anyway. I like Michael Keaton and remember him in the movies that I was not allowed to watch as a child through the 80's-90's, because of magic and the cult rules I was forced into, yet caught up with them in my adulthood. Michael is a phenomenal actor. He takes the serious role in this well and plays it well, in direct contrast to Beetlejuice. If anyone is thinking of watching Spotlight and has not done so yet, I highly recommend it. As a survivor just be prepared for possible triggers along the way, but know that you can also say #ME Too and that we are not alone.

The story of this film needs no explanation. It is a very powerful subject and sometimes it makes me wonder how these subjects are allowed in Hollywood. Corruption is everywhere. With the internet expanding and our view of the news changing, as depicted in the film, we have been discovering such stories more and more. The film's execution of its serious subject was not as powerful as it needed it to be. There was only subtle criticism of the Church and the subject of sexual abuse. There should have been more vivid and effective ways of criticizing the behaviour and the cover-up. I don't know if this is even possible considering the power of religious institutions; it might not have been possible to do much more, so we can't blame without knowing the truth. This is not the only reason why I found the film underperformed. The acting was weak, excluding Mark Ruffalo. And I couldn't find myself getting into the story as much as I would've expected to. The story and the subject along with Ruffalo's performance saved this film to be above average. Still, I would recommend it for the story.

As a Roman Catholic, I can safely say that these abusive men are pieces of garbage, and have no place anywhere but Hell. It is also tough to see this type of scandal and take hatred from others that like to group you with these monsters and not be shaken spiritually. That being said, in order for me to get anything out of this movie, I realized that I needed to put myself, and my beliefs, out of the picture. So, as far as unbiased feelings about the film, I thought it was an interesting and different perspective on crime films. Taken from a newspaper's point of view, this has the potential to inspire other artists to create a similar premise in the future. The acting is also very strong, and the screenplay is another solid aspect of this movie.With this in mind, I felt the camerawork, although not bad, was boring and lifeless at times. The film also dragged at points making it feel longer than it actually is. Overall, it has a strong message that can be applied to anybody. That message being to realize that there are bad apples in all organization, and that those we may trust have secrets that could be dangerous to others. Not a mind-blowing film for me, but strong overall. Highly recommend viewing to gain a message from the movie yourself.