What length will someone go to bury the truth? What length will someone go to reveal it? The award winning “Spotlight” is based on real events. A team of four journalists at the Boston Globe investigate a history surrounding priests in the Catholic Church accused of pedophilic abuse. They find that the community obscured the abuse under the Catholic Church. What’s more, the press failed the community when it buried the story years ago. The team gives a voice to those who have silently endured their pain. They revolutionized the power of the press through their devotion to the uncomfortable truth. They paved the path for victims to speak out. This movie depicts the extraordinary labor for justice by resolute journalists. From the first dip into the murky waters to the deep plunge into the archives.
The Spotlight team members are Robby Robinson, Mike Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer and Matt Carroll. The new managing editor, Marty Baron, encourages them to think beyond the victims. The story is buried deeper in the Catholic Church system. It’s about calling the offenders to justice and the restoration of a community.
Carroll stumbles across parish directories revealing a horrid pattern. Each priest who “acted out” with children is listed in the directory as “on sick leave” or some similar designation. The Catholic Church transferred pedophile priests from parish to parish for years. They swept the molestation under the rug. The team builds upon this evidence. They compile the data onto a massive spreadsheet. Suddenly, the story is not about a sole case of abuse. It’s a cover-up spanning decades. Close to 90 priests are involved. And the victims are the gatekeepers of the story.
“Mark my words. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one, too.” Mitchell Garabedian is the attorney representing clergy abuse victims in Spotlight. He is aware of just how corrupt the church is. He also recognizes that they did not act alone. It takes more than one person to cover up the truth.
Garabedian’s reluctance to comment for the Globe at first is whole-hearted. He perceives the Globe doesn’t have the resources or talent to publish a story worthy of the victims he deals with. It is due to Rezendes’ persistence and rapport that Garabedian becomes an important source. Rezendes gives up the potential for another shot with his partner and much of his free time to relentlessly pursue the story. It’s personal for him. How can you walk away from the insidious knowledge of something transpiring for years? Or look a victim in the eye without empathy? Trapped beneath adult exteriors are children who deserve to be liberated. Rezendes is haunted by his own notion that he would someday return to the church. You could say he’s lost all faith in this moment. He’s invested in this story at whatever cost. His emotion permeates the screen.
Today, the Catholic Church’s involvement in the molestation of those young children is recognized. If not for the courageous efforts of the Spotlight team at the Boston Globe, the residents of Boston might still be harboring a painful secret. The movie is a tribute to the work of journalists. They can stitch together a community fractured by the past. They can hold the powerful accountable. Even a formidable institution.
Each of the team members give up normalcy to make this story at the Globe a reality. They even set down the story when the 9/11 crisis demands their attention. They risk losing steam and credibility with the countless individuals tied up in their story. Retribution from the church is a real concern. It was imperative that they get the story right. In the process, they gain confidence, merit and a deeper understanding of their work. They rise to action. Robinson rises humbly from past mistakes. Rezendes finds vision. Carroll realizes that his work is more than writing a story. It is a moral duty to provide the community with pertinent information. His own children stand at risk. He cannot turn away from the truth. None of them can.
Sacha goes door to door seeking out sources. She stumbles blindly into a nonchalant confession of molestation at the door of a former priest. She is caught off guard. The scene is coursing with adrenaline as a woman slams the door in her face. The movie gets investigative journalism right. The adrenaline, the dead ends and the constant failure. These elements make success possible.
Robinson goes to the lawyer who initially worked with the church and the victims, Eric MacLeish. MacLeish expresses rage. “I sent a list before. And you buried it.” He also lost faith in the Globe. They failed to investigate a major local institution. The team goes back into the archives and finds an old story from when Robinson was in charge of local coverage. He loses credibility with his team and with himself. But redemption is possible. It is not too late.
Things boil to a head as the Globe finally gains access to the sealed church documents. The team is at last in possession of proof that leaders of the church shuffled around pedophile priests for decades. They knew what was happening. Trailing the loose threads of Geoghan’s trial, the team’s breaking story rippled across the United States. “Spotlight” encompasses how great reporters break big stories. With integrity and grit.
