FILM ANALYSIS:

SPOTLIGHT

Papageorgiou Alexis DATE: 02/10/2017

alexis@cytanet.com.cy

Uh, well apparently this priest molested kids in six different parishes over the last 30 years and
the attorney of the victims, Mr Garabedian, says Law found about it 15 years ago and did
nothing. Ten minutes in, a two hour movie is set in two sentences of dialogue or better yet,
summarized (the film is set with the very first sequence with a paradigm than actual words). We
have a priest that takes advantage of his position in order to rape or molest kids. We know that hes
been doing it in various locations over a significant period of time. We are informed about the
existence of a specific set of damning, for the church, documents and finally we are told that
according to a certain lawyer, Law (Archbishop of Boston) knew about the scandal but chose to do
nothing. Now the only thing that, as we will come to learn, is false about the statement above, is
the very last part. Law did plenty in order to keep the secret hidden and managed to accomplish
exactly that for decades, a reality that is now a very dark page in humanitys modern history book,
unless you are living in Rome inside some Catholic mega mansion.

I will avoid summarizing since almost everyone, and certainly those who are reading this attempt to
accurately analyse Spotlight, knows what the story is about. Instead, it is my wish to dive deep into
the pool of information that compiles this modern masterpiece and point out the methodologies
used to create this picture, shedding light at the same time on the various techniques that have
been implemented by McCarthy and Singer.

Chapter 1: NARRATIVE STEP BY STEP

Since I started with the films summary as stated by Marty Baron, Boston Globes new editor in chief,
in the first ever morning meeting he attended with his new colleagues, narrative and how the
creators chose to construct it will be the major characteristic of this picture on which I will try to
elaborate.

This is a true story, a tale so powerful in content thats its ability to worry, disturb and shock is
universal. In transforming such a reality for the big screen what matters most is the viewers ability
to understand the actual events, exactly the way they occurred and therefore a linear approach is
implemented. Spotlight is Globes investigative team of journalists and through their eyes we will
see almost the entirety of the story unfold. This team of journalists are the people chosen by the
creators to tell this story, because their heroic actions led to the publication of the scandal and
initiated the healing process for Boston City, but theyre not the only protagonists. As in every real
life scenario that is transformed for viewing purposes, the parameters that have serious
consequences and affect resolution are many but the story is better understood when told through
a specific Point Of View (or a set of POVs), therefore the Spotlight team gets the nod. The reason Im
stating this obvious film technique, will be better explained later in this analysis, as I will try to
understand Garabedians real life role in this immense journalistic success.
The first sequence serves on a platter, in less than two minutes, the issue at hand while at the same
time identifying all the major players. Its Christmas, 1976 and were in Boston. Inside a police
station, a church representative manages to convince a divorced, mother of four, not to press
charges against priest Geoghan, for what appears to be child abuse. We never hear the actual
accusations but the Mise-en-scene works its magic spectacularly. The Father, who apparently has
seniority over the accused Priest, is talking to the mother while her two young boys are drawing in a
sketchbook, assuring her that Geoghan will be removed from their parish. The Boston Assistant DA
joins them but his presence is not needed in the end as were led to believe that whatever happened
will be resolved outside a courtroom.

Keeping in mind that the sequence only lasts two minutes, I will divide the information gathered into
two parts. On one side we have the information that is told with spoken language by the various
characters and on the other, the information understood by the scene design chosen by the
creators, and the meaning one can derive by simply watching the action unfold.

The younger officer asks the senior for information about the incident that apparently is occurring
inside the police station. It involves a divorced mother of four and a priest, and we know that
something bad happened because shes bawling, the uncle is pissed and were in a police station. A
suited young man enters in a hurry the station and is quickly informed by the senior officer where
the family and the priests are located. His second concern is to learn whether the press got a sniff of
whats going on, but the senior officer assures him that theres nothing to worry about. Some guy
from the Citizen but we sent him away. None of the big papers. / Lets keep it that way, the suited
man replies before moving further inside the station without asking for permission or signing
anywhere. Hes the assistant DA, we quickly learn. Too quickly in my opinion, but continuity issues
will be addressed later on. We also learn that experience suggests there will be no arraignment and
that the press will probably never learn anything about what happened. We then see a priest inside
a closed room, sitting alone and we learn that his name is Geoghan, while in an adjacent room, the
single mother is talking to a senior catholic Father. At the same time the Assistant DA quietly enters
the room, the Catholic churches representative repeats to the woman the importance of the church
and assures her that the father will be removed from his parish.

In two minutes of action we are already informed of a priest that will most likely avoid prosecution
for something he had done involving a broken family of a single mother and four kids and that this
priest will be removed from the parish so that whatever happened will not happen again. Lets pause
for a moment and consider his (Geoghans) crime because the brilliance of this scene cannot be
understood otherwise. What have we really witnessed? I will scratch from my mind the obvious
connection between a priest in a station and two underage boys in fear of being biased to my
understanding of whats going on. So what else do we know that can help us solve this small riddle,
but bear in mind that, in my opinion, the answer is imprinted to the viewers brains, consciously or
subconsciously depending on different capabilities of understanding, the moment they exit this
small sequence, with a 99,9% success rate. We have secrecy, a curious young cop, a slightly panicked
assistant DA, a priest with his eyes shut inside a small, closed, room and just a bit further, a mother
and her two boys are listening to another priest whos whispering to them the value of the church
for the community. We already know that this woman is divorced and she has four kids but next to
her are sitting only the two boys. On top of that, the second priest is trying to convince her that what
happened will not be repeated and that father Geoghan will be removed from his parish. It is clear
that this priest is trying to remind this woman once more of the churches importance to the
community, so the incident (father helping out) is apparently very serious. Obviously by the end of
the sequence we are now fairly sure that this is a case of childs (not one but two since both boys are
there) abuse by a priest (Geoghan). So again I ask what we have seen

Isnt this an introduction to Bostons rotten system, where cops, state prosecutors and priests work
hand in hand to conceal a hideous crime? But how was this monster created, one might ponder. The
answer lies in the younger cop, a character seemingly unimportant to the story but in my opinion,
the cherry on the cake. Its gonna be hard to keep the papers away from the arraignment, he
justifiably questions the senior cop before being lectured on how things are done with a simple
What arraignment? reply and a sign of amusement to the young guns naivety. His inauguration is
complete as he watches the father and the ADA speed away from the police station a few minutes
later. Without even understanding it, his initiation is completed and he now is part of a system that
will become responsible for the abuse of thousands of children in Boston in the years to come.
Perhaps the part where the ADA and the Father exit the station and enter a pitch black Cadillac
which was waiting for them with the motor running is a bit too Gangster for my taste, but still,
magnificent sequence! I have highlighted the above comment, because I wrote it the second after I
carefully watched the 1st sequence, frame by frame. Of course Im wrong, since thats precisely the
idea the creators wanted to pass onto the viewers. This subconscious connection-comparison of a
priest and an ADA, with a group of thugs secretly meeting a dirty cop inside a police precinct seems
subtle by design (thus my understanding of the ending as a bit too Gangster) and once you connect
it with the Baron Law meeting, the genius of the artist is revealed.

Fast forward 25 years and were now, July 2001, inside the Boston Globes newsroom, where Ben
Bradley Junior is giving a speech while most of the reporters have formed a circle around him
listening. Most, not everyone is crucial is such gatherings inside a newspaper! Losing a good
reporter is always tough but losing one of our best, uh, well to put it as eloquently as I can, its a
real kick in the ass. Hows this for a transition. Like a pick me up song it works its magic and via a
calm river we exit the abyss and enter a sunny lake whose shores are decorated with laughing kids,
games and funny thoughts. Its not sudden, and this is exactly why it works so smoothly. Losing a
reporter was no accident. The first sequence still grips us and thus, a coin word seems more likely
to be understood by its dark meaning, a thought quickly dismissed by a hilarious avalanche of jokes
that puts us in a completely different mind-set. In fact, its so good that it will prove impossible for
the creators to follow 100%, but, first things first. We laugh while learning something very important
for any newspaper. A new editor in chief is on his way! Hes not coming right now of course. We
need to build him up first. He arrives Monday. At the same time, were introduced to one of the
main characters, Robby, whos by evidence, one of the highest ranking journalists inside Globe, hes
brilliant, funny, and gets along with his colleagues just fine.

Its time to meet the Spotlight team, and we start by following Sacha and Matt, who have been in
the general newsroom saying their goodbyes to Stewart, the departing editor, as well. The camera
moves behind them and tries to match their pacey rhythm as theyre going down the stairs and
towards the Spotlight newsroom, eating cake and talking, all at the same time. If our job defines us,
imagine the impact 20 years of journalism will have on anyone. Scene design is a theme throughout
this film and in my opinion, it constitutes one of the main reasons that pushed Spotlight towards
universal celebration. We have the family feeling Stewards farewell created, and now we witness
multitasking and the speedy life of a journalist. Us meeting Mike Rezendes, the third and final
member of the Spotlight team, brilliantly pairs the above idea of scene design with the necessary
introduction of one of our protagonists. The world will stop spinning before Journalism gets a chance
to pause, and what better way to illustrate this by having Mike working, while the rest of the team
were a floor above, having laughs, eating cake and greeting a friend goodbye. Matt gives Mike his
cake while the latter is still on the phone with Dan Cahill, attempting to get him on board regarding
the newest story Spotlight is researching, the PD numbers Uh-huh. Okay, I get it. You dont have
to talk No Dan. Im not mad. Im hungry. Ive been talking so long I didnt eat lunch. So, Im going
to get something to eat. Thatll give you an hour to decide whether you want to be on the right
side of this, or read about it like everybody else. Bye Dan.

I mean, who doesnt put down the phone in the presence of a cake! Connections of the highest
order, one after another and in a rhythm so pacey one can barely keep track. Aside the beautiful,
in-scene transition, we learn that Mike is sparky, pushy when it comes to maters of work and that
hes not afraid to point the gun in order to get things done. He also possesses strong journalistic
opinions as we observe right after he ends the call. Despite Sachas and Matts positive opinion on
the story, he argues that the PD numbers isnt for Spotlight, as Robby, the teams editor is entering
the room. Whats just not for Spotlight? / The numbers story. It feels thin / Oh, you got Cahill
to talk? / (pauses) No but I will / Good, then well know if its thin.

Take a note of that pause and expression, because thats acting, dialogue, character set up and
continuation of the highest order. With that pause we learn that Robby is the man in this team and
thats why he has the separate office, overseeing everyone else. We also learn that Mike will say his
opinion without letting any potential outcome alter it in any way. Hes enthusiastic, spontaneous, a
free spirit. The next conversation between Sacha, Matt and Mike, concerns more journalists
departing Globe as the team contemplates their new reality, who the new editor is, and if hes
planning to make cuts like he did in Miami. Like a broken record, Mike bounces every quizzing aspect
of their conversation towards Robby, in a hilarious bombardment that ends with Robbys frustration
and another reminder that he should work on the PD numbers. Mike sticks to his guns, repeating his
opinion that this isnt a story for Spotlight. Mikes character is too strong to be contained, even by
Robby, and the editors silence in the second dismissal of the new story by his subordinate teaches
us that Mikes journalistic opinion matters a lot, not only to his colleagues but to his boss as well.
The second sequence lasts three minutes, during which we have totally changed mentality, got
acquainted with the Spotlight team and learned that theres a new sheriff coming to town and he
has already requested a get together with Robby.

With a trick that resembles the pause incident (read between the lines), Baron and Robby meet in a
restaurant. Mr Baron/Robby, yeah, thanks for taking the time out of your weekend, can be
conceived as a simple greeting between two people that are about to become colleagues, but that
would be a mistake. The power structure within Globe becomes even more obvious for whoever still
has doubts. Baron is above Robby hierarchy wise, thus the request for a get together on Robbys free
time, and he also seems to be a workaholic. Hes reading about Bostons history (Curse of the
Bambino) and wastes no time in making his assessment of the situation. Robby informs him that
Globe has season tickets for Fenway stadium, translating his choice of reading as anyone would but
the offering apparently doesnt interest Baron. The new editor is not here to make friends and he
subtly lets Robby understand this. Im just trying to get a feel for the city. Baron has a way of
keeping his distance without making his counterpart uncomfortable. The weekend meeting was no
accident. Once the get to know blah-blah is out of the way, Spotlight becomes the topic. Now as
soon as Spotlight is mentioned, Robby picks a cute, more relaxed posture. Hes calm, happy and
proud to talk about Spotlight and what they do. I like to think of myself as a player-coach but yes.

In so many words, Robby informs Baron that Spotlight is a four people investigative unit that picks a
project and then invests months into learning everything there is to know about the story before
proceeding with publication. He also lets Baron know that at the moment theyre trolling for their
next story, a sign that the PD numbers are not yet a sure thing and subsequently, a little plus for
Mikes journalistic intuition and their relationship (Mike & Robby) is added in the viewers cerebral
cortex, whether they realize it or not. Barons unique blend of calm-aggressive demeanor comes into
the picture for the first time. To be fair, there could be a slight character inconsistency in the scene,
as we come to realize that Sacha was spot on about the cuts in personnel, a development that
seems to catch her boss off guard, but this can be attributed to Robbys character, and an attempt to
hide his cards, pretending that he doesnt know anything. Baron, despite his zen, is more than willing
to test the waters, in order to quickly assess the situation and the various players he will have to
work with. Barons slightly shocked reaction to the explanation about Spotlight and how long it takes
them to pick and research a story is crucial, not because Spotlight is working wrong, but because it
paints the mentality of a new boss who seems willing to understand how things get done but isnt, at
the same time, afraid to make drastic changes in case his personal assessment of the situation
indicates a different reality than the one he is given. Conflict is established before we have enough
information to pick a side!

By the end of the meeting Robby knows that Spotlight is not off the hook, cuts are a certainty and
that everyone will have to raise their game. This could be a firecracker meant to establish Barons
seniority, or it could be a sign of things to come. The question will not last a day, as Barons first
10:30 meeting, clears any misunderstandings. Before we transit though, it would be wrong not to
notice how carefully constructed the surrounding environment in the scene we just watched is.
Dozens of different individuals are enjoying their dinner (most probably), enjoying themselves,
drinking wine and conversing in high continuity with the action in our table. Its as if were watching
a conversation in real life through an invincible camera, until of course Barons and Martys dialogue
gets a hint of heat and we must dive into portrait close ups that block the surroundings and allows
the readers to get a better read on the situation. What Im more focused on right now if finding a
way to make this paper essential to its readers./I like to think it already is./Fair enough. I just
think that we can do better. Direct, strong and classy at the same time. This is Marty Baron. This
particular real life feeling technique used in filling a scene will be maintained throughout the film,
creating several magnificent pictures and a few mistakes. Robby might be conceived as a bit nave
but we dont have enough information for a proper assessment.

Weve met the individuals that compile the Spotlight team and weve also met Baron. We also got a
glimpse of Bradley Junior, the guy right under Baron in Globes hierarchy so its time we mix up all
the elements. The 10:30 does that, but moments earlier we see Junior and Robby heading towards
the meeting and Junior questioning Robbys presence. Baron requested it and thats clear since as
Robby clarifies, he is also an editor. Junior naturally wants to know what happened between them. I
added the sentence you just read after several viewings of the film because I failed to instantly
realize its value. Take out that Junior curiosity and you have instantly get a character inconsistency
problem, despite not knowing Junior. He didnt meet his boss but Robby did so its imperative for
him to ask what kind of a guy he will have to work with. I couldnt get a read on him. / Thats a
first! dismisses our previous worries about Robby and allows us to read one more page from his
character book. He was indeed trying to read Baron, and thats why he was playing dumb. A very
good example of the realistic structure Im talking about, arrives the moment Baron starts talking,
when Robbys conversation with another editor abruptly comes to an end (Ill talk about the
importance of him standing as opposed to everyone else in the next chapter). Anyhow the meeting
is on, and aside Robby, the journalist who wrote the latest column on the Geoghan case (Eileen) is
also present. In this sequence at least two character inconsistencies take place. Outside the meeting,
we see another aspect of Mikes character, one that we certainly expect to be present but perhaps
not in such inflated manner. Hes super curious, nosy one might argue, without hesitation of any
repercussions like we already witnessed, but so far so good. Mike approaches Steve, another senior
Journalist, and after a very brief small talk about last nights baseball game, he asks to know the
reason behind Eileens presence in the meeting. Do you need something Mike?/No, just
curious/Go be curious somewhere else Mike. I got work to do/Okay Steve, see ya/Yeah. Steve is
plain rude, perhaps even aggressive, and even though clearly were meant to hate him from get go,
such a conversation if one might address it as such, hints to prior altercation and would have
probably let to a more heated resolution in real life. On top of everything, it doesnt even make
sense once you know the story, so it feels like character inconsistency for both. As I said, Steve is
plain rude and for something that doesnt really affect him and as we will come to find out, hes not
unintelligent. Now one might argue that he has an idea of what is about to occur in the 10:30, or he
should have , but even in such a scenario his reaction is just wrong. As we will observe, Steve is a
schemer and dismissing Mike like this doesnt serve his purpose. Now a schemer knows a scheme
especially when its in his face but Mike accepting such a direct insult feels out of character.

Inside the conference room, Baron is acquainted to the various department heads and when that is
done, he brings Eileen and Geoghan into the conversation. Junior meanwhile is painted like a cool
guy who likes to joke and make people laugh when the discussion becomes overweight and if his
character is adjusted for the play and unmatching the real life individual, then another kudos to the
creators is a must. Junior is a constant break from the heavy stuff and a vital breath of fresh air.
Baron on the other hand is a persistent reminder that hard ball is now the game. A comparison
between the two is inevitable for the viewers. Parenthesis closed but Junior stays in the spotlight as I
argue about another character inconsistency.

When Baron makes an enquiry about a folo on the Geoghan case, Junior seems genuinely surprised
when he really shouldnt be. Theres no other reason for Macs presence in the 10:30 and Junior isnt
just the guy under Baron, a truth we discern also by the fact that hes first to answer. As well come
to study, Junior is the man a lot of people rooted for, regarding the editor in chief position Baron
eventually got. If this is intentional and the creators really wanted to illustrate that Junior failed to
translate Eileens presence, then I cant help but wonder how that man came to fill such a position in
real life. Again, if hes manufactured and not similar to the real Junior, then there still is character
inconsistency here, especially since he already questioned Robbys attendance. Anyway, this is a
very small minus compared to the effects the scene has, immediate and narrative wise. Before and
after the summary of the film as stated in the first line of this analysis, we witness the power play
between an outsider and the existing structure of individuals within Globe, regarding the way the
paper handled the Geoghan case and the way it must approach it from now on. Again we notice the
same characteristics about Baron, the quirks of his character that make him such a gifted leader,
that management flew him across the country to revitalize the paper. Hes direct, strong with his
words while at the same time, ready to take his tone a notch down in order to keep everyone as
happy as possible, but in line with his path. Hes not motivated by pointing the finger and playing
boss. Instead he seeks to change ideas via convincing arguments. The gap between how he sees the
Geoghan story and how the rest see it is proof of the true size of the problem. Its immense, scary
and hard to grasp but we have to keep in mind that this is a society groomed to tolerate this
behaviour for decades, as the first sequence testified! The way he manages to convince everyone is
so smooth that the actual meaning and feeling of what happened goes a bit unnoticed.

Baron basically told everyone inside that room that they failed to notice and treat accordingly the
biggest story Boston had in years. These are professionals that were considered among the best in
the business. Its impossible for anyone to identify the importance of the story that has been
demoted to a column status without, at the same time, questioning the reason behind this. Theyre
either imbeciles or theyre covering it up. Theres no way around this plain conclusion when a media
of this magnitude is on the spotlight. Still, Barons here to test the water, not sink the ship. But
theres a huge gap to be reached and the rest have to cover the distance and reach his side, not the
other way around. His first piece of business is suing the church. Brilliant! I was a journalist and
believe me when I say that this kind of boss is what dreams are made of, if youre 100% journalist.
Baron not only gave them freedom to discover the truth, he more or less demanded it. Only in
movies one might say and yet one of the best movies of 2015 is based on true events. Naturally the
down side is that in reality, things got so bad, that one can hardly make a case for a journalistic
success on Spotlights behalf. The system was so rotten you could smell it miles away and the scandal
involved so many people that Garabedian had already made public, damning documents for Law and
the Church.

We have three main characters inside Globe that possess the power to determine the outcome of
the story at this point. So, time to see where the other two stand. We know what Baron wants and
we got a glimpse of Robby when Baron first mentioned suing the church in the 10:30. If his emotions
could be read via a sign on his forehead, the sign would display Excited or Finally but in small
fonts. Gutsy call for a first day./Thats one word for it./How do you think thats gonna play down
front?/ I think Gilmans gonna shit a brick. Same excitement can be understood with his first
reaction when alone with Junior and again its a subtle note. Hes clearly fishing for a true response
from Junior now that theyre alone (Its more lucid now that we can understand him better). Bradley
doesnt seem to embrace the idea of suing the church. Generally speaking, one might disagree with
an idea because he doesnt believe such an action would have a positive outcome or hes afraid of
the ramifications a positive result would have on him or someone else. Why Bradley reacts like this?
Whats his character like and what does this man stand for? His initial reaction gives an impression
of disagreement with the idea, because it would upset everyone and create friction, or it could be a
defensive mechanism meant to block a very big humiliation of personal, professional, nature. A new
guy comes in and his first action is telling them they missed the biggest story in Boston. Church will
read this as suing them. And so does everybody else. The initial impression we get of Junior is that
hes a likeable guy. Hes funny and seems to get along with everyone despite his position. But when
the heat is on he becomes spineless. Its the first character conflict we encounter? and it creates a
secondary tension source inside, and aside, the main story. We are starting to wonder what is going
on with this guy because something doesnt quite add up. He prefers blocking the pursue of truth
than getting into a fight to stop something very bad that is happening in the city hes supposed to
protect his city. We need more information and its time to get it. We covered Geoghan when
the story broke three years ago. Aha! Theres that defensive mechanism again. He seems to be
trying to cover his ass. Robby indulges his attitude by adopting a neutral stance.

Every word counts in an occasion such as this one and it matters for every character respectively.
Mike is much easier to read, like an open book, and his character is almost completely set up. Ten
minutes in the film and we get a third indication of his spontaneous and really clean character. He
barges into Juniors office, eager to learn what happened in the meeting. His reaction to the news
about suing the church lets us know a few things. He wants to sue the church? Hey thats great,
yeah. I will open a parenthesis here to talk about something that might seem miniscule on a first
note but, unfortunately, it really isnt. Theres a lot of ways an actor can speak the above words.
Lets separate the successfully acted and performances that suit a film of less calibre and obviously
stick with the former. Ruffalo is great throughout the film obviously, but I have a feeling hes not the
only one deserving credit for the quality of the acting, even his own. Theres a pause after the first
question in the narrative, like hes actually contemplating what he just heard and repeated. Its a
very small pause that tells us a lot about him and about whoever is really responsible for that pause
and the suiting yeah at the end. I could very well be talking about the same person but since I
misplaced McCarthys and Singers phone numbers, I feel obligated to point it out. Success really lies
in these small details and theres plenty in Spotlight! That small pause makes Mikes character
believable and the length of the pause ticks again the spontaneous box of his character. And this
spontaneity tells us that Mike is all in journalism without blinkers. Also its the first positive reaction
we have for Barons idea and the fact that neither Junior or Robby object, makes us feel warmer
towards its potential success.

To the next scene we go, as Baron calls Junior and requests a meeting with him and Robby. Ok we
know that Barons idea just gained one-two votes but we still have doubts. Temperature rises as we
come to the realization, or witness another indication, that Baron is not fooling around. Half hour
after he shocked everyone in the 10:30, we see him already on the phone planning Globes next
moves, including a meeting with Junior and Robby.

Lets think for a moment like McCarthy and Singer did and put ourselves in their shoes You are
doing a film about a scandal such as this one and you want to identify the best way to approach the
story. Obviously, narrative wise, the story is already there and you cant change it, so, what can you
do to maximize tension and produce something as interesting as possible for the audience in every
turn. Suffice to say, the story itself pushed them to question independently each and every character
from the beginning. Its impossible for a scandal to grow exponentially to this size, without the silent
acceptance of people outside the red of the heat map. So what would you do in their shoes? Theyre
obviously treating everyone as a suspect from the start and it works great. The people in the red
may be essential but theyre the not the only interesting players here. Identifying the silent partners,
the enablers, is key in painting the true size of this horrific tragedy. We must pay close attention to
every character since kinships will be made, alliances that will eventually determine the outcome of
the war.

Back to Barons office, we see deeper into Juniors psyche, but we do it through a keyhole. Its
tenuous, and this approach will help the creators maintain a shadow behind this character that will
keep the tension going as much as possible, offering Robby at the same time the diversion he needs
to hide his true role in the story. Its a very good idea, but it really makes me wonder about the
authenticity of this specific character, Junior. He seems manufactured, unrealistic but perhaps this is
because I learned the journalistic world from the inside for many years, or Im simply wrong. Whos
the judge in this case? / Umm Constance Sweeney (a tone of doubt-like asking for further
information on her. Nice.) / Tough. / Whys that? / Good catholic girl. Juniors questioning lets us
understand that he wants to help because if he didnt he wouldnt have revealed this important little
detail. He wants to be a part of this. This is a hairpin of sorts from the conversation he was having
two minutes ago in the safety of his office. But, it is consistent with a character who apparently
wants to get along with everyone. In this case, and it really speaks volumes about Boston if this is
true, getting along with everyone is impossible, so Junior is about to hit a crossroads. Back to the
now, we get another indication of Juniors shallow self in the same sentence. Translating the fact of
Sweeneys religious background as an obstacle in Globes attempt to pursue justice for Geoghans
victims, also speaks volume for a man whos unable to distinguish right and wrong and certainly isnt
cut out to lead a newspaper. This, however, can be a positive sign. Hes not a leader but he still
might follow the one who is. Speaking of which, Barons reaction to this remark is well disguised
anger and a counter attack of his own as he doesnt really know at this moment the quality of his
potential foe. Hmm So judging from what Ive read it doesnt really seem like weve done a very
thorough investigation into the Geoghan case Is that right? / No its not. We looked hard at
Geoghan. David Armstrong from Metro, Michael Paulson from religion. / Okay, but, uh, just so I
understand, beyond our daily coverage, we havent committed any long-term investigative
resources to the question whether Cardinal Law knew about this/No we havent./And thats the
kind of thing your team would do? / Well yeah, but were still prospecting the Boston PD story I
told you about. / Could you set that aside? / We could. / Marty, in past Spotlight had success in
large part because they pick their own projects. / Would you consider picking this one ?

Talk about black and white. Now this is how a leader communicates! The fact that this time Junior
seems to be prepared and knows the names of those who handled the Geoghan case tells us that
something changed from the 10:30. He was humiliated and now aspires to be ready for whats
coming. It adds to the complexity of the dialogue but its not the only important feature. Even more
important is how this dialogue feels. Its like a teacher reprimanding a student for doing something
bad while making sure at the same time that the second student, who is friends with the first one,
will keep an eye on him. I made an argument about how Baron pushes everyone to the cracking
point but before the water starts to spill out the glass, he stops the overflow by saying something
else to keep them in his side. This conversation is a prime example of this idea and confirms what we
already know about this character. Even though hes speaking to both men, he knows that the
weight of such a failure falls significantly more on Juniors shoulders (something that of course isnt
true but at this point, theres no way for him, Junior, or us, to know this), and therefore when its
time for someone to answer, he addresses only Junior. Is that right? This is a game of cat and
mouse that could have gone in a completely different direction, if Junior was a different character.
But he isnt, so apparently he really feels that Globe isnt to blame for the way the Geoghan case was
handled, thus the calm voice to his answer We looked hard at Geoghan . Its a small, very well
covered sign, that Bradley Junior isnt scheming with the Church to keep this under wraps. Two
birds one stone for Baron, and without ordering anyone! He simply suggested Spotlight handles the
investigation. Junior is as happy as one can be in his shoes, when presented with an excuse for his
shortcomings, and Baron simultaneously managed to assign a team to the task. And not just any
team ... The best investigative team of journalists inside Globe. First major twist accounted for and
off we go.

Before that, theres something of great value worth noticing. Ironically, Robbys character is the
most difficult to get a read on. Is he really reluctant at first to handle this project or does he act like
it in Juniors presence? If there are signs that made this clear to this point, I have failed to notice
them. Still, theres two ways to read his behaviour with what weve learned so far. One, he really
wants to pursue the Church story, thus his reaction in the 10:30 when Baron mentioned suing the
church but he knows that he has to be careful in front of others about his true intentions (10:30 and
meeting Junior right after) or two, he isnt yet sure which story, Geoghan or PD numbers, has the
best journalistic potential, thus his neutral stance in this power struggle scene between Junior and
Baron. There isnt a more suiting place in this analysis for me to point out how Robby really feels like
a secondary story inside Spotlight. Hes the most important character for reasons that will be
identified later on and gives another perspective not only to the storys main aspect and what really
happened with the molested kids, priests etc., but more importantly to the way the whole thing
played out inside Globe.

Marty asked the million dollar question (Would you consider picking this one?) and theres really
no need to answer it. We transit straight into the Spotlight newsroom, where Robby breaks the
news to the team. We get mixed reactions from the team. After all, we have to understand that
these people are in hibernation. The gap between how Baron sees things, an outsider, and how the
people inside the dark circle view them is still gaped by a million miles and we have to cover that
distance step by step. We need to naturally bring the two worlds together. How do we plan to do
that? Well, I imagine it will be pretty simple as soon as the hibernated start seeing the truth. To be
precise, both sides will see the truth because at this point, only the tip of the iceberg is visible. How
will we see the truth? The team must get down working of course. Sacha knows the lawyer,
Garabedian, but its Mike who volunteers. I like characters. Ill take him. No need to explain how
this action agrees with Mikes character, but it shows a little something about Sacha as well. Shes
not a big fun of conflict, where Mike seeks it like oxygen. Before the scene is over, we learn
something about Matt too. Robby warns the team that this case requires even more discretion than
usual, if they are to succeed in keeping Law in the dark. Good luck with that! This remark shows us
that Matt has no illusions over the difficulty of the task Robby just assigned them with. He simply
doesnt believe that Law will remain ignorant, and what does this tell us? Church is very strong inside
Bostons society plain and simple. It also informs us that Matt knows how the system works and he
doesnt believe they will be able to keep their secret. A simple remark like this one portrays a very
significant reality. They must be very careful about who they trust and who must be kept in the dark.

Secretly, we watch a clip from the secret movie inside Spotlight and its subtlety leaves little doubt
about the genius of the architects. Robby mentions a second priest completely out of the blue. The
story became twice as big in an instance. Two explanations again, like in most of Robbys actions and
here lies the undercover brilliance of this movie. One, he took Barons request (not order) in
adopting the story so well, that he decided Spotlight must go even further, which is understandable.
Two, Robby already knows that the story is much bigger than almost everyone else realizes, and
decided that with Barrons protection, its worth to pursue it in its true entity. Both explanations
cannot coexist. Its one or the other but leaving the definitive answer to this question ti the end is of
utmost importance.

Back to our narrative, we see Sacha in her house. She lives with her husband and her grandmother.
Her nanas connection with the church is impossible to hide. Sachas husband wonders if she plans
to tell her about Globes decision to sue the church. Globe sues Church? Its gonna be a story.
Hes right. If its not already, pretty soon, Globe and the church will be the talk of the town.

We are now into the next day, and its time to pick up our tempo. Matt asks for the relevant clips
from Globes archive, and Liza (Librarian) enquires if theyre for Spotlight. Even if Matt assumed that
everyone is talking about Spotlight taking over the Geoghan investigation, his reaction is again just
rude, like Steves and displays a complete apathy towards a person that one, seems nice and two, is
a colleague from whom he occasionally asks for help. If shes fishing, his reaction achieves exactly
the opposite of the desirable effect. If Lisa wasnt really interested before, she certainly is now.
Baron is trying to find the publishers office, in a tet-a-tet that seems a bit nave to me. We already
have a pretty good idea of the quality of his character. Insinuating that hes such a hard worker that
he actually met with everyone before the only person who is above him in the food chain feels like a
bit too much but is cute and makes us like him even more. Their little talk also feels unnatural,
especially given the fact that its their first face to face. In fifteen seconds hes in and out with an ok
to sue the Catholic Church, plus the customary hellos and bye-byes. Picking up half way into their
conversation would have worked much better while applying the same realistic colour we used so
far to the storyline and it wouldve saved the creators half a minute. But, we learned that Baron will
meet the Cardinal next week, for a customary get together and hes advised not to mention their
motion to lift the seal of the documents.

The introduction with Garabedian is next in line. The elevator opens up inside his law firm and the
dozens of boxes placed wherever possible transmits the idea that Garabedian is either seriously
unorganized or hes buried into paperwork. It doesnt feel like were into the offices of a serious law
firm or one that actually makes any money. Garabedians first words in the picture are heard (we
dont see him) from down the hall as hes actually screaming to someone about some papers that
are not yet delivered to his office. As Mike waits for a meeting with him we transit into another part
of Boston where Robby and Sacha have an appointment with a second lawyer, Erik Macleish. Now
this looks like a proper law firm with opulence in abundance and suffice to say this pairing isnt an
accident. Macleish is apparently the churches go to guy when it comes to settling cases where a
priest is accused of raping/molesting a kid or a number of kids. He and Robby seem to know each
other and even have a round or two of golf under their belts. Robbys joke is smart but we dont feel
a real connection between them so traces of tension can be identified. We dont like this new guy
just yet. After a brief explanation of how tricky the Geoghan case really is, with the stature of
limitation expiring for any victim after three years, Garabedian comes into play. Erik doesnt seem to
hold Garabedian in high esteem and appears to really think that hes bluffing about having
documents on Law, grandstanding to cut a better deal. Seems a bit reckless. / Have you met Mitch
Garabedian?. This scene agrees with what two-three previous scenes tried to tell us about
Garabedian. That hes a crank, reckless lawyer whos trying to bluff the church into accepting a
better settlement for his clients by lying about possessing documents that would destroy Cardinal
Law if made public. We picked a few interesting facts along the way though, as we now know that
the maximum settlement the church offers for any such case is 20 thousand dollars. Seems
unimportant, but when you combine it with the victimology described by Macleish, it kind of makes
perfect sense. We also learned that for the victims, the best way, money wise, their cases can be
handled is through the press, and press isnt Garabedians strong suit were told.

Back into his office, Mike is being Mike and as soon as the opportunity presents itself, he rushes into
Mitchs workplace without getting the ok from his secretary, lying that she went for coffee. The
office is exactly like the rest of the place, with thousands of documents occupying every single
corner. Garabedian is indeed swimming in work and its obvious that he forgot about his meeting
with Mike that was scheduled an hour ago. Reaching for an excuse to get away from the interview
that Mike still insists on having (not so much with his vocabulary but body language instead Ill talk
about Show, Dont tell technique later), Garabedian draws the reporters attention to an interview
he recently gave to Phoenix. Mike doesnt seem interested. This game of back and forth educates us
about Mitch Garabedian. He set the meeting, then forgot, and when confronted about it, he simply
told Mike that he cannot keep his promise because he has work to do. The last part is of course
obvious and in an extent generated the necessity for the lawyer to go back on his word. He is not
well organised and he is indeed well over his head buried in work, just like Macleish said. What else
did we learn from this scene? Did you know that they tried to bring me up before the
Massachusetts board of bar overseers three times? Theyre watching me very closely / The
church? / Yeah, the church. Yeah. Theyd like to get me disbarred. In fact put that away, put it
away! / Sure / I dont want you recording this in any way, shape or form. Doesnt seem like a
revelation one would make to a person he doesnt know or wants to have a conversation with,
unless this is the reason he doesnt want to talk to them. The regret Garabedian displays by abruptly
stopping his ranting about the Church chasing him, also lets us know that hes either crazy, or he
really feels the pressure to such an extent that he wants to talk about it but hes afraid because he
doesnt trust the guy across the table. Changing his mind in the middle of the revelation indicates
ability of rational thinking, quick decision making and lack of prior design of his comment. He doesnt
trust Mike yet, he doesnt even know him. So either Garabedian is crazy or theres something here
giving another explanation to everything said so far about him by various other characters. After
Garabedian refuses to further explain why the church is after him, he attempts to send Mike away
by telling him that he already gave a good interview to the Phoenix. There are not many sayings-
quotes in the picture, but the few we will encounter are pretty good. Mike points out that Phoenix is
broke and insists that through Globe, Garabedian can find the help he obviously needs. The church
thinks in centuries Mr Rezendes. Do you think your paper has the resources to take that on? /
Yeah I do, but if you dont mind me asking, do you? / I cant talk to you right now Mr Rezendes.
Im very busy. The last part of the conversation kind of clarifies things for us. Garabedian is really
afraid of the church and hes obviously reaching out for help because the workload is overwhelming.
Mike not only insists that Globe has the ability to lift him up but also displays significant
communication skills. Picking up Garabedians fear of certain individuals inside the church was
simple, but turning that into a weapon to gain his trust is something completely different.
Garabedian knows that he cannot do this alone. With more or less a promise that he will allow Mike
to interview some of his victims, the scene comes to an end.

This is a big film and the filmmakers know the risks involved in every project of this size. We need
some kind of medicine to treat boredom. Theres practically no real action, and in contradiction with
most films, we know where this train is going. This is a real story and people know, more or less, the
actual outcome. So, implementing techniques that will keep the viewers on their toes becomes
essential. One of the techniques McCarthy and Singer used to achieve this, is little music sequences
with a rapid exchange of shots and slim to zero dialogue. Two birds one stone again. Not only they
offer a much needed break, but at the same time, they allow the architects to push the story
forward while the viewers are tidying up their thoughts about what happened so far.

We know what Matt asked the archive for, and we see the preparation and delivery of the set of
clips. Is there a better way to describe the narrative of this film than the picture formed by imagining
a tree combined with its reflection via a mirror that is placed vertically on its higher point? We start
from a specific location, and then follow a set of different paths that eventually meet again at
another location. In this case, each characters mission represents one of the trees branches and we
know that eventually the combination of all these actions will lead to resolution. Its standard
procedure to follow in a sequential order all our characters, because it makes sense narrative ways
and it also allows us to change the scenery and task at hand more often, thus avoiding fat build up
and maximizing the quantity and quality of information the viewer gets.

So lets summarize and check out this theory. We have Robby, Mike, Sacha, Matt, Junior and Baron
so far. But we already know that Junior isnt assigned with a task. He will play a role but the time to
talk about it hasnt yet arrived. So if Junior is out then we have 5 focal points. We have seen Matt
asking for the clips, then followed Robby and Sacha when they met with Macleish while at the same
time Mike was fighting his way through Garabedians office, and now we return to Matt also
because his task allows us to reunite the team and compare findings. We are starting to wonder
what Baron is doing but the music sequence ends up with Lisa in the Spotlight newsroom, so well
have to wait a bit longer.

Again Matt is plain rude and this time in front of other people. Lisa again says nothing. The attempt
to illustrate the secrecy that characterizes Spotlights methodology contrasts the way a newspaper
really works. These people work countless hours together and need each other. Even if in a
newspaper of Globes size, distant relationships between journalists and other, assisting, employees
is common, Matt accomplishes the exact opposite of what he wants with the way he acts. It just
doesnt make sense to me and it kind of blocks the flow of the action. If this choice was supposed to
make us connect even more with the team and portray them as heroes swimming through a sea of
mud while trying to get to the shore, I have to say that it really fails to deliver (during this specific
point of narrative). It has already been explained that the team cannot trust anyone and that they
plan to work undercover. This is the opposite of undercover. Anyway, since theres another example
of Matt dealing with the same problem in a different way coming up, we skip this and focus on the
narrative progression. A whole new pool of information is now in Spotlights grasp and while Sacha
informs us of a victims organisation represented by Phil Saviano, Matt discovers a third priest in the
clips.

This is a beautifully constructed scene with a shower of new information resembling in a way the
mirrored tree illustration. Three characters in the room and at any given moment, each one of them
has something different to offer, even by simply repeating something. Sacha mentions SNAP, but
through a wide camera shot, we see Robby intrigued by her discovery. He quickly stands up and
approaches her, ignorantly asking yet again if such an organisation exists. At this point its impossible
for anyone who lacks inside information and is simply watching the movie for the first time, to
attribute something extra to Robbys behaviour. I will not go there again and instead choose to
elaborate separately on Robby towards the end of this analysis for practical reasons. At the same
time, Matt discovers a third priest, whose path looks identical to Geoghans. There are signs of
whats to come imprinted in our memory through a series of shots aimed to accomplish exactly this.
Eileen McNamaras column on Geoghan was titled A familiar pattern. First we see the librarian
typing the title and we are therefore unable to focus on anything else. Then we see the actual article
and we even zoom in to the title in a technique resembling propaganda. Whether we realize it or
not, the pattern used, mandates the viewer to search for exactly that, the pattern. To a journalistic
eye and mind however, Macs title seems planted to suit our needs which is of course to identify the
actual pattern that is coming. When you have a priest who molested 80 something kids, you dont
title it, a familiar pattern. Its even degrading for the victims and their families and sounds like, even
suggests that, the families have something to do with the rapes, but its a small minus that one will
probably notice only after putting the film under the microscope.

Parenthesis closed as Matt has found a third priest who reminds us, and Sacha, of Geoghan. Sacha is
wrong to be so surprised (continuity mistake), because this is exactly the reaction she should have
had (and Matt) when the team looked into Porter, the second priest Robby informed them of. We
also see Porter in the clips in the music sequence, and his horrific actions mirror Geoghan even to
the number of victims. Mistake aside, the scene does the trick. We now know that these priests
follow a pattern and we have a victims organisation that can confirm or dismiss our teams
diagnosis. But in a very subtle way again, our suspect pool, now also contains Globe as an
organisation. Theres so much one can notice before he points the flashlight and starts inspecting. If
the 10:30 was the initial poke, Robby throwing Porter into the mix out of the blue, and Macleishs
innuendo to Robby and Sacha regarding Porter a third-gentle push, then the truth that Globe also
buried the story of this third criminal priest is a slap in the face. Everything is digested and we need
something new. Phil Saviano serves exactly this purpose and his arrival could not have been
scheduled better. Narrative now flows like a big river with plenty smaller streams joining in to
further empower the current. We followed the trunk of the tree, send our characters through
different branches and now were starting to smell the fruits.

I mentioned earlier the importance of a designed change in scenery that rests the eye and allows the
viewer to regain maximized focus and interest. I feel like these transitions are almost surgically
implanted in Spotlight. We are roughly half hour in the movie and its the perfect time for something
different. The next two three scenes accomplish this, while offering a bunch of helpful information
as sidekick. Fenway Park comes first and why not since we already know that Globe has season
tickets. This is a conversation we couldve had anywhere but choosing one of the most famous
baseball stadiums in the world as scenery is a no brainer. Before we go any further, its important to
note again that we are now at the point where things start to get serious. Baron has already given
authorization to Albano to move forward with the motion to lift the seal on the church documents,
and on top of that, the Spotlight team is poking around to see what will fall of the tree. So its safe to
assume that in case there is some major cover up, now its the time to start noticing plays from the
other side. Identifying these moves and act accordingly could tilt the outcome of the war for either
side. Inside the stadium everything seems normal including how bad the Red Sox are performing.
Like the change of scenery I talked about, the quality of the humour and dialogue is of the highest
order and aside agreeing with the normal life feeling the creators wanted, and managed to transmit,
it also serves as a break and much needed mood swing. After all, green relaxes the eye. Matt, Steve,
Mike and Junior are watching the game. Matt is attempting a crossword of sorts and when asked
about it, he explains that it serves as a distraction from the game. Know what else is good for
that? Steve replies and shows his half empty beer cup. Matt agrees and heads for the canteen. The
dialogue is funny even without them actually cracking a smile but as soon as Matt is gone, Junior
starts to poke Mike with questions regarding the investigation (makes one wonder whether both of
them waited or even pursued a moment alone with Mike). By the end of the scene we are left
suspecting that Junior and Steve are working together to discard the story, convince Mike that this is
a fools errand while at the same time throwing mud in Barons, Savianos and Garabedians faces. I
say suspect because of Juniors conflicting actions to this point, compared to Steve who as I already
mentioned were obviously ordered to hate from get go. When performing an analysis, its
important to distinguish between what is easy to grasp from normally watching a film and what
surfaces under a thorough investigation. In this case, I believe that the majority of the viewers
depart this scene thinking that our team of journalists face a conspiracy, with Junior at this point,
certainly a member, at least. And yet, Jr is honest with Mike. So, you guys making any progress? /
Absolutely. Its a good story. / Why? Cause youre another lapsed catholic pissed off at the
church? As far as schemers go, Junior certainly isnt winning any prizes. He doesnt even appear to
be average. On the other hand, Steve who supposedly is watching the game and bears no interest to
the story, is indisputable trigger happy on gunning down any new name, or lead, Mike mentions to
Junior in an effort to make his boss as excited as he is about the story. Under close inspection, Junior
is transformed form a schemer, to an idiot who notwithstanding his position, can be manipulated by
a journalist, even a senior one like Steve. Now, despite distinguishing the two explanations I just
gave, it is essential to realize that theyre not completely separated. Obviously except adopting a
negative idea about Junior after this scene, subconsciously or consciously we have a feeling that
something doesnt quite add up. This happens in good movies and theres absolutely no need to
make an argument on Spotlights behalf. Staying with the initial idea most people get from this, I say
that another source of conflict has just been established. Lets call this sequence of scenes,
Identifying the villains.

We have all witnessed how beautifully a transition works when someone throws a name and in an
instance we fly a million miles to meet him or when a woman olden than a century is imagining her
first naughty kiss and we dive into the bottom of the ocean to see the most famous cruise ship bow.
Well apparently everything nice gets boring when everyone is doing it, so in Spotlight we transit with
a scene as a middleman. In other words, we were supposed to meet Sullivan before baseball
interrupted us, but its not just a trick designed to diverge the creators from the pack and I shall
elaborate in a few seconds. These two scenes are almost identical in scene design, not mise-en-
scene, and the same goes for the feeling they leave us with. We departed the previous with concern
for our team. The bad guys are plotting against them. Another very smart joke calms us down and
were ready to meet Sullivan with a clean conscious (Imperative to achieve this kind of freedom of
choice for the viewer and thats why I dont like them painting a red circle all over Steve from get go.
A potential small source of conflict was discarded by the engineers going down that path).

First impression is pretty good and its of course spawned by the friendship that clearly binds
Sullivan with Robby, in contrast with the very similar scenario we witnessed when the latter met
Macleish. Seconds into the conversation though, and the new guy is already bad mouthing Baron,
undeterred by Robbys signs that he likes the new guy and would prefer to talk about something
else. Sullivan even goes one step further and clearly says that Globe make a mistake in not
appointing Junior as editor in chief. But Robby is famous as a journalist for a reason, and since Jim
broached the subject, he smartly takes advantage of the situation reaching out for some insights on
father Barrett, as expected of him. Sullivan evades by bringing up attorney client privilege and does
the same when Robby asks for off the record information as favour to a friend. One might expect the
innuendos to end here but Sullivan comes back asking about the lawsuit. Yes the church knows, but
at this point we would expect only the parties that are interested one way or another to be
informed. Sullivan certainly seems involved and its not for the side we root. Look, I dont know this
guy Baron or what his agenda is. Frankly, I dont care. I just dont wanna see you taking a bullet for
him. This is why the middleman isnt just a trick in this case. It multiplies the impact of the next
scene because we are already in a conspiracy theory state of mind. I dont know who this guy is
and frankly I dont care, Jim argues, but most of his thoughts are focused on exactly that guy and
he doesnt even know him. Something is going down, and Sullivan clearly has knowledge about it.
Like Steve and Junior, Sullivan is apparently in the church corner, and furthermore, there seems to
be a campaign in motion to smear Baron and replace him with Junior (Garabedian mentioning the
campaign against him obviously lubricates the handle to this door, and not by accident ), the guy
who should have got the job in the first place. But despite the multiplication factor we get by
combining these two scenes (three with Garabedian), like in the first one, Sullivan seems to be
sincerely worrying about Robby. They truly are good friends so how dangerous can this guy be? I
wonder how easy it is to notice this from the first viewing

Another small sequence dressed with music is coming up as we are again reminded of the churches
importance for the people of Boston. Parenthesis needed here, because attention to detail is what
separates the good from the great. This is a film about child molestation by the hundreds so when
we see Matts family getting ready for church, its important to notice that their house has no fence.
Kids are practically playing football in the street and maybe the reason Matt throws the ball a yard
inside his property, is to avoid causing an accident and certainly not make it hard on the thieves.
Theres trust among people unlettered of the devils presence in their back yard. For families and the
elderly, the calendar has a permanent x, every Sunday morning.

Baron is sitting in an empty diner across one of the churches. Beautiful cinematography, and the
close up on his face while the people are coming out the crowded church is exquisite. Mike is
running along the beach on his way to the office (even for 3 seconds of running, we can spot two
figures running the other way Again attention to detail!) while Robby is already in his office going
over some clips about Saviano. Obviously, the conversation with Sullivan got to him, so we need to
see inside his head and examine in what extent. Its a brief dialogue with Mike, but it lets us know
that despite the feeling of doubt Sullivan managed to instil, Robby is determined to see this through.
External and internal powers are influencing Juniors perspective of the case but despite his thoughts
about Globe dropping the story, Robby wants to bring Saviano in. Mike looks excited, but before we
get to the meat of the conversation, I want to speak about the Robby-Mike relationship. Robby
seems to have a sweet spot for Mike and doesnt waste a good opportunity for lecture, but its not
one way traffic. He appears to be like a father figure for Mike. So just ignore these guys? / I think
we gotta start ignoring everybody on this one. / Im good with that. Do you think Marty has any
idea whats coming down the pike? / Nope. I dont think he cares either. / Thats refreshing. /
Yeah, unless hes wrong! Ruffalo and Keaton are sublime in a scene were their eyes speak louder
than their mouths. Perhaps its the subject and how intensely they surely feel about it but I can
almost see that spark the real Mike and Robby had that day. Especially Ruffalo because of his
characters age, traits and role in the scene, is divine.
Watching this next scene where Baron visits the Cardinal in his house/mansion makes me reconsider
my thoughts about the gangster feeling the introduction left me with. Im looking at the elements
that constitute the mise-en-scene and the innuendos flying towards Baron and Im stack with the
memory of Pesci in that famous Funny how? restaurant scene. Ok, arguably it lacks the high pitch
voice Pesci has, but theres something about the Cardinals way that reminds me of a gangster movie
and the way a boss delivers a threat. But, Pescis character in Goodfellas is a saint compared to the
Cardinal so maybe the comparison isnt so off after all. Every sociopath explains his behaviour first
from all to himself, and then to everyone else, and the Cardinal is no different. The editor memory
he recalls serves as a simile, warning Baron to back off or the city walls might come calling, but its
also dressed with a very personal note. Isnt this Laws inauguration into the shadows? So different
than the one the young cop got, but with the exact same result. Its his excuse, a way to explain to
the other boss thats now sitting across him, the reason behind his monstrous actions. The way his
hands form a gun pointing directly towards Baron is yet another sign that the gangster feeling is
implanted here. The fact that Maureen comes in the office before shes called, is the only minus in
this scene, for me. If you plan on delivering a threat, and the Cardinal surely is, then one would have
expected two gifts to be prepared. One in case the visitor stands firm, like Baron does, and one as a
thank you, in case the meeting goes well. But it didnt, so, Marty got the Catechism. Think of it as
a Cardinals guide to the city of Boston. Two times Law extended his hand, both times Marty shut
him down. No need for subtlety any more. Barons expression inside the car as he quickly unwraps
the gift, is a vindication of his journalistic instinct and a realistic response to the understanding of the
long road he has ahead of him.

With Barons latest action covered, its time to turn the hourglass upside down and start again
witnessing how our focal points are performing. This of course has more to do with simply
progressing the narrative, since it also makes perfect sense as a technique designed to keep the
viewers focus level on the max. We separate Baron from the rest of the group, because his actions
have a more managerial feeling about them, and his intention isnt to investigate the story on his
own, but to pave the way for his people to do that with as little obstacles as possible.

Sacha arranged the meeting with Saviano and he comes in with a box. The whole team is meeting
him inside Robbys office. Its worth inspecting a little more the mise-en-scene that introduces us
into this scene. Think of the way a photograph can tell a story just by examining the arraignment of
the elements it portrays. In this case, we see from a small distance vertically into Robbys office.
Saviano is center stage with his back turned on us and our team is sitting 180 degrees in front of him.
The shot is taken from a specific point, which accidentally or intentionally displays Robby in a
position further away everyone else, thus separating him slightly from the group. On top of that, the
window blinds cover a portion of his figure but force us at the same time to pay attention in
between them and recognize Robby. Compared to the power of composition in photography, still
filming has at least one extra arrow in its quiver. Sound can be called upon to attract even more
attention to a certain portion of the shot and this is precisely the technique the creators use to boost
this scenes product. After we see the still shot of our team and Robby inside his office, Saviano asks
a question and Robby answers but as polite manners dictate, normally one looks at the person that
is talking to him, and Saviano does exactly this. Another two-three seconds outside the room would
have painted this separation of the group with even brighter colours but subtlety is still applied to
the secondary storyline of this film.
Into the scene we go, where first from all we notice the body language of Saviano. Hes almost
squeezing the carton box into his chest. He doesnt appear to be comfortable, even in the presence
of people who he asked for help. But he seems like a smart guy and the conversation between him
and our guys flows fast. As we learn that the members of Spotlight have been raised Catholic but for
one reason or another they have now distance themselves from the Church a bit, Saviano explains to
them how father Holley molested him when he was a kid. This is another predator description that
seems to agree with everything we have witnessed so far. Victimology reads young kids, boys or
girls, poor and from broken families so the pattern idea gains a few more yards. Saviano might
appear to be a bit strong for a rape victim and therefore seem inconsistent as a character, but I think
the creators are spot on with his design. This is a guy with a significant different lifestyle from almost
all other sex victims. Not only he talks all the time about what happened to him, but furthermore he
has created an organisation that fights for the rights of people like him, with a few, admittedly,
members but essential to this exception of him from the general rule. When a priest does this to
you, he robs you of your faith. So you reach for the bottle, or the needle or if those dont work you
jump off a bridge. A window into the psyche of one of the victims serves as motivation for our
team and for the viewers, as their desires are starting to become one and the same. They now want
even more to see this resolute. Its one thing to fight for something because you have to, and its a
completely different feeling to know, and agree with, exactly what you are fighting for.

But Spotlights intense interest seems to agitate Phil as much as it helps him to open up. I send this
to you guys five years ago. / Uh, to the Globe? Who did you send it to? / I dont wanna say who,
but they said they werent interested. Naturally Robby is the one who asks who inside Globe got
this material five years ago. Its safe to assume that, that someone is most probably still working in
Globe, thus Phils reluctance to speak his name but sometimes one must pay attention to what isnt
happening, instead of just the action. Robbys acceptance of Phils initial decision to not name the
person who failed to act upon these sensitive material five years ago, is suspicious and confusing at
the same time. One wouldve expected him to be asked to elaborate on his accusations or leave the
premises. Matt informs Phil that Globe did a couple of stories on the subject. Yeah, but to be
completely frank it wasnt enough. You guys gotta understand. This is big, this is not just Boston.
Its the whole country, its the whole world. And it goes right up to the Vatican. Seems a bit of a
stretch and has the feeling of someone blaming the whole world for an injustice done to him. Think
about it, there are so many of them. How else could they have hidden it for so long? / So many
what? / Priests! Priests. I know thirteen of them right here in Boston. The bomb comes out of
nowhere and lands right in the middle of Robbys office. You know thirteen Priests in Boston who
have molested children? / Yeah! Why do you keep repeating everything I say? / I just like to clarify
things. / Maybe you should have clarified it five years ago when I send you all of this stuff. Its all
right here. And in a second we have another Garabedian coming clean. Like the lawyer, crank or
not, who claimed to possess damning for the church documents, a claim that demands a thorough
investigation from Spotlight, Saviano alleges to know at least ten more names of predator priests our
team must examine. Narrative wise, the conversation with Phil has goldmine potential as he
provides them with significant leads they can now follow in order to shed more light into the
shadows. They have the Gauthe case in Louisiana, the ex-priest Sipe, all the members of his
organisation SNAP to talk to, and of course a promise of ten more monster priests right here in
Boston. Even if one failed to buy a ticket for all the previous Robby short films, the tension between
him and Saviano seems too strong to go unnoticed. One might even argue that Saviano becomes
uncomfortable by Robbys presence in the room. Lets take one more look on the bolded
conversation above. The instant reaction and mild rage Saviano displays seems to be connected with
Robbys previous comment about clarifying things. This feels like a personal attack as well as an
expression of frustration towards Globe as an organisation. And the part about Robby repeating
everything appears to be a reaction to words spoken earlier. But prior the conclusion of this scene,
this argument becomes a two way street. Talking to Phil obviously has affected Robby as well The
guy has an agenda thats for sure! Its the first time Robby dismisses something before
investigating and his tone also feels really strange, like a defence mechanism of his own. The
conspiracy theory is regenerated and like in a flashback, Robby momentarily goes under the light.
But its too fast and we dont have time or desire to process it, because of Robbys next actions. Now
this is quite brilliant and it must be noticed. The moment Robby gets a grim from the viewer, he does
exactly what we want him to do and then some, so like a security guard we realize that maybe it
was nothing. He tells his team to do a background check on Saviano, but also follow up on the
victims. He moves the story forward, so he must be in our side. The joke on Mikes expense seals the
deal. Hes not anxious about anything. Hes focused and wants the same thing we do. Whoever
thinks that this looks like character inconsistency must recall that this isnt a fabricated person.
The above idea was my first impression of the matter but after examining the whole film, this
method was overdone and in the end served the role of a curtain, created to hide Robbys true role
and took away some of the realism. Finally, the notebooks that our team were using to record
Saviano seem to be blank.

I talked about the necessity in scenery change, especially in films of this nature and the next scene
can be considered as a perfect example. What is character but the determination of incident and
what is incident but the illumination of character said Henry James, and Mikes next action makes
me once again smile to the realization of how true the above words are. Garabedian is crossing a
busy road, walking towards his office, but a few meters away from his building, Mike ambushes him.
He was a pain in the ass after all and Mike clearly decided to fight fire with fire. Macleish was right
about Mitch and how uncomfortable he is with the press. Again he refuses to help Mike, this time by
stating that his victims have no desire of making their problems public. Mike insists and follows
Garabedian into his building and elevator shaft, in a scene that manages to pump adrenaline into our
bodies despite the absence of action. It achieves so with an illusion of altercation, created by
Garabedian and Mike having a heated discussion during which they rapidly interrupt each other.
Ive noticed that in Spotlight, but I must admit that I havent researched whether the dialogues are
actually faster than the majority of the films thus creating a deeper connection between the
characters and a stronger pull of the viewer towards the world they represent. Back to the scene and
into the elevator shaft, Mike has to come clean in order to get something out of the conversation.
Mentioning that Spotlight is on the case does the deal but now their secret is out in the open.
Garabedians reaction shows us that Macleish might be wrong after all. This lawyer simply wants
exposure that can make a real change, and Spotlight seems to have his approval. Mike finally gets an
interview with one of the victims. Now you can argue that since Saviano already gave them victims
to talk to, this wasnt such a big deal. Wrong, because this how a journalist gains the trust of
someone who is kind of a character Baby steps is what Mike does by necessity, by one of these
steps will land him something huge in a few scenes.

In the next scene (and it has become evidently clear that were entering the victims world-sequence
and were about to meet several of them) Sacha is meeting Joe in a small, beautiful, caf. Joe is a
SNAP member, victim of child abuse and gay from before the attack. The introduction is again very
smart, with Joe clumsily spilling his coffee while attempting to get up and greet Sacha. The fact that
no one else seems to notice or care about the accident, lies under the continuity section of this
analysis, and will be addressed later on. Joe doesnt really look, or behave, like a victim. Hes clumsy
by evidence and admits that hes nervous and that he came in an hour early, but hes sharp and
funny as well. Sacha will have no problem connecting with this guy. Mike seems to be facing
something quite more challenging in Garabedians office, in a sequence of intertwining victim
scenes. Patrick is also anxious about sitting down with a journalist and sharing his deepest, darkest,
secret, and he initially appears willing to do so only through anonymity. He seems constrained and
his first worry is to make sure that his name will be left out the article. Garabedian who is overseeing
the interview quickly assures him that his name will be indeed left out, while Mike smartly takes the
conversation a notch down by guaranteeing him that nothing will be done without his consent.

Why mix these two interviews one might ask. It could be a simple case of once more changing the
scenery, but unfortunately, this is a design that, in my opinion, forces us to compare the two victims
and understand at the same time that everyone deals with pain in their own way. Like Saviano said,
one might reach for the bottle, the needle or the edge of a bridge. So we see that even if the pattern
is identical in every child, one has become anxious and clumsy while the other is depressed, scared
and addicted to narcotics despite the fact that he has recently became a father. Not even
fatherhood has the power to drag him out of the gutter and this isnt just a realization about his path
on film. In real life, this character fails to recover! For a film to be successful, its imperative for one
to make several connections between scenes, to watch a certain character say something that
reminds you of a dialogue that happened earlier in the narrative, otherwise the neurons that
compile the picture feel disconnected. How old were you when it first happened? / I was 12. Just
after my dad killed himself. / Oh geez / He was a piece of shit, and my mom wasnt so stable
either. / How do you mean? / I mean she was a schizophrenic. / Same shit. Another broken home,
one more poor family, one more kid with a red circle painted over his little body and I cant help but
recall Phils words inside Robbys office. When a priest does this to you, he robs you of your faith.
So you reach for the bottle, or the needle or if those dont work you jump off a bridge. One can
easily spot that Patricks body language and specifically the positioning of his right arm, intentionally
covers the marks inflicted by needles, and even though I dont believe that there wasnt at least one
long sleeve t-shirt in his drawer (or why did he took his jacket off?), Savianos words now have even
more meaning. This isnt just physical abuse, its psychological too and it seems like these kids where
hunted down by a predator My sister saw him over (Geoghan) at the Dunkin donuts. This
predator incredibly subtle exposure comes before anyone (Mike) addresses them as such, and its
important as well, but lets close the parenthesis. Imagine being Patrick at that fragile age of 12. A
shitty life as backbone, a father who commits suicide and a mentally ill mother is basically Patricks
childhood. If everything else was perfect, his mothers sickness would have had a completely
different impact on his upbringing. But its clear that he hates her, despite the fact that she isnt to
blame. Shes sick, but for Patrick, a 12 year old boy who fall victim to the monsters, shes also a
culprit. He cant even pray to god. He did, and he got Geoghan as divine intervention. When a
priest does this to you, he robs you of your faith. These busy highways not only connect the
different spots in our story but with bright signs force us to constantly pay attention. How can you
drop something when you understand it and find it interesting? Patricks only visible branch as he
was sinking, was one with big, venomous thorns, disguised as flowers. Joes story is obviously
different in content, thus allowing Sacha to push for more and more, but again the scars are visible
and they will stay this way until his final days. The directing and cinematography styles, with close
ups that switch from character to character, maximize the effect the dialogue has on the viewers,
especially when almost every one of your secondary actors performs in a remarkable manner, like in
Spotlight. Ive been looking for more fingerprints that give away the designed, intentional change
in scenery, and theres one coming right up. As the interview with Joe progresses, his body language
and facial expressions witness an increase in distress but also pay attention to Sachas little pause as
shes waiting and hoping that Joe will elaborate on his molested description. Brilliant acting again
and interestingly enough, the dna from this shot matches exactly several other from scenes she isnt
even there, like Mikes pause. Another sign that this acting approach is indeed a theme? The way
McCarthy picks the story and gently places it again in a park nearby is a testament of his ability to
simulate life while adding even more realism to the scene since its understandable to expect Joe
unwilling to speak about something so personal in such a tight environment. A waitress brings the
coffees and Joe, who has been thinking about this for a few seconds says, We should probably get
these to go.

Transitioning in a way that feels so natural is an art and it either witnesses extremely careful
construction of scene connections, filmmaking ability to be admired or a mixture of the two. The
ending of Patricks interview is another example of the architects brilliance. We see Joe feeling
comfortable and sharing information with Sacha, but Patrick is a man in every sense, and if his past
was different, he could have become the man. Talking about what happened feels like pouring
gunpowder over the wound and lighting it up. He explains to Mike the incident in the car with
Geoghan (a little word game with the Law encyclopedias behind him wasnt used) but his brain
cannot compile a set of words that have the ability to explain the aftermath and why he met with
Geoghan again. But it works so much better than having him explain, it feels stronger while also
saving plenty of time. After all, even if he explained, it would have been impossible for the majority
of us to fathom the particular set of circumstances that led to his prolonged torture. Once again, we
can reach back for an explanation. What this is, is Priests, using the collar to rape kids. Kids!, or in
Joes case You have to understand is that this is the first time in my life that someone told me its
ok to be gay. And it was a priest! Joe now knows who he is and hes among the lucky ones. The fact
that he can end the conversation with a joke is yet another plus for Spotlight. Joe did you ever try
to tell anyone? / Like who? A priest?

For Garabedian, Patrick is also among the lucky ones but for a different reason. He is still alive. I
open a parenthesis here to say that, if building up Robbys anger with Sullivan constantly refusing to
help him out and Macleish blowing him off was smart filmmaking, this is much better and miles
harder to recognize. At the end of this scene, Mike is a different man. His expression reads anger,
and hes clearly affected by his first interaction with a Geoghan rape victim. I dont think anyone can
spot the different steps of this arc easily as the picture progresses but once you notice it, his
explosion when Robby refused to publish makes perfect sense. Having characters interact in a way
that is more or less expected of them, even if that action initially shocks us, is a must in films of this
calibre. Doing it in such a subtle manner makes the picture better, since it portrays the characters as
significantly more interesting. Simple math and still few people can really apply this science in this
degree. The next scene simply proves my previous point but it also speaks to me about something
that probably happened in pre-production. Now I could be miles off, but Ill say it anyways. When
Joe mentions the lawyer he doesnt remember his name, but from the memory of him always being
on TV, Sacha can extrapolate that it must be Macleish. Of course most can remember Matt
mentioning this in Spotlights newsroom, in her presence but connecting the two and realizing that
this is why Sacha herself connected the dots, is design of the highest order. The way it is constructed
though, makes me wonder whether someone questioned how Sacha would know and came up with
a simple, smart solution, of having Matt implanting the knowledge in her brain a few scenes earlier.
Its like this whole thing is alive, and one can identify under careful examination where it has been
before and the DNA it has left on each scene.

And like with the coffees in the caf, McCarthy and Singer again use a very natural way to complete
the interview in a different environment. Sacha is in her house at night and she calls Joe to clarify
some of the things he mentioned and in a very unrefined way, Macleishs name comes up again
while at the same time, we get a glimpse of some new techniques the church uses to block victims
from stepping forward. Its funny how some amazing acting can go unnoticed because it looks so
natural. Look Joe, I just want to clarify one thing. You talked to Phil Saviano about all of this
right? The signs with the hands, the little circle with the pen while Sacha says all of this are all
details that sprinkle the scene with magic. The complexity of the scenes that we just completed,
along with the very important information they delivered, really pushed the story forward, and the
constant change of environment along with some brilliant sense of humour ensured that we covered
that distance without breaking a sweat. Last but certainly not least, the fact that Joe and Patrick fell
victims to different Priests, forces us again to examine the circumstances with the big picture in
mind. The pattern! Filmmaking of the highest order, apart some minor issues that will be addressed
later on, and so is the next one.

Anyone can fill a scene with information and deliver something multidimensional, but doing so and
coming out of it without anyone realizing what youve done is a gift. Robby is in the kitchen, holding
a pack of cigarettes, if Im not mistaken, with his mouth. He does so in order to free his left hand and
reach for some money because with his right hand hes holding a cup of coffee. On the left side of
the frame we can recognize the figure of a woman (cashier) that is waiting for the receipt to be
printed (ambient sound of the machine), when Matt comes through the door. The camera follows
Matt as he heads for a pizza slice from the oven in the corner, while at the same time he informs
Robby about the date set by judge Sweeney for the hearing. A joke that manages to make us smile
while at the same time building tension follows, because Canellos who is taking bets on how fast the
judge will rule against Globe, is one of Globes editors! As this conversation reaches completion,
Robbys phone rings and he balances the cigarette pack? on top of his coffee in order to answer the
phone and exit the room at the same time.

Multitasking of the highest order perfectly in line with the journalistic lifestyle and keeps the viewers
grounded and focused while advancing the narrative by releasing important information. What more
could we ask from a small scene such as this one. The phone call not only gives us an exit, but it
allows transition into Sachas apartment, as shes now informing Robby about the Macleish
development and her intention to visit the courthouse the next morning. Like a tequila shot it goes
down and lets us yearn for more. But as perfect as it seems to be, under close inspection its far from
perfect. The fact that Sacha loudly speaks about the content of their conversation and motion
against the church is certainly a minus, considering how hard shes supposed to be trying to keep the
church story a secret from her Nana, who was making a cup of tea in the next room a few minutes
ago and clearly isnt sleeping (Sacha said that she didnt want any tea earlier, but now she has a cup
in front of her). To be honest, this can hardly be considered as a substantial mistake but comparing it
with a scene where Sacha lowers her tone when mentioning the word church, one realizes that
the latter could have made a huge difference in the creators attempt to build a loving relationship
between the two women. Like the Mike pause discussed earlier, when confronted about the PD
numbers by Robby, magic is in the details. On the other side of the scale I must put something,
despite the fact that its impossible to notice. Robby exits the kitchen and moves towards the
camera that is backing off, thus following him through Globes corridors, twisting and turning. A
perfect frame is maintained through the entirety of this action, even though no rails were used but I
think the wheels of a cart can be heard if one pays a lot of attention.

Not much of a coincidences fan myself, so when Robby knocks on Juniors door at the exact moment
hes about to leave (late for dinner), Im not impressed, but the casual conversation and the muscle
memory manner in which Slattery avoids the leaflets are spectacular. Narrative wise, we see another
very well disguised short Robby film, as hes now making a case for Saviano being the real deal to his
boss, expressing his desire to expand the investigation at the same time. This makes me think that
the conversation earlier between him and Saviano, really frustrated Robby, who as we recall,
intensely requested a background check on him. A day later, and without any action altering that
situation, he has changed his mind completely. I must admit that this is beautiful to see Essence
wise we now know that the team has information on four priests and they intend to examine
Savianos claim of thirteen scumbag priests in Boston alone. There is a lot more to this scene but I
elaborate further down this analysis while focusing solemnly on Robby.

The fact that Mike reacts to Sipes unexpected phone call more or less the same manner Sacha did a
little earlier with Joe (hand gestures), lets me understand that the probability of this technique being
part of scene design is now much higher. One might argue that this is something natural but I
disagree. Theres some real thinking behind this and it feels really great. You can feel the connection
between Mike and Sipe, as you could feel the intimacy between Sacha and Joe. Mike even stops
writing and concentrates in understanding Sipe perfectly when the details coming towards him
become shocking. This level of commitment towards the construction of a realistic dialogue is
breathtaking.

Weve been following Sacha and Mike for a while so now its Matts turn. He enters the cafeteria and
heads towards the table were Eileen McNamara is sitting. He asks for information regarding the
assignment of priests in parishes and how one can track these movements down. Mac answers the
question but only regarding Geoghan. We can notice Steves bald head in the table behind Macs, as
hes apparently having lunch in the company of another male journalist. Now as soon as Matt
mentions the possibility of Spotlight looking into another priest, Mac blatantly asks him if Spotlight is
looking into another priest. This is very natural, because if I was Mac, I would have also wanted to
know if someone took my story and plans on following up something much bigger, especially a
colleague. Steve seems extremely interested too but not in a healthy way. Matt evades answering by
claiming to be late for a meeting, which is of course a lie, and heads out the cafeteria while Steve is
looking at him with his mouth open awaiting an answer that will never come. We know that Matt
doesnt trust just anyone, but now we are almost positive that hes right to feel this way. The walls
have ears inside Globe. I mentioned that classifying Steve as a bad guy from the beginning has its
minus when hes not wearing a cape or some weird machinery in a Marvel film, but in this case it
works great, since it lets us have a much needed laugh on his expense.
Again we change scenery as we see Mike finding exactly what he was looking for, with Lisas help.
The woman who was so eager to learn information about Spotlights church project, twice, now
seems like she couldnt care less. This is exactly why the previous Matt Lisa encounters felt so
wrong to me but this is of minor importance. After all, perhaps Lisa simply decided to mind her own
business. Mike and Robby are coming down the stairs, and pass through the presses on their way to
the archive room where Matt is. Mike is helping Robby catch up with all the latest developments on
the case, including the content of his conversation with Sipe. Bottom line, these pedophile priests
seem to hunt down a specific type of victim like the one we explained earlier, and that their
numbers could be a lot bigger, reaching a size that can be described as a phenomenon inside the
Catholic Church. Robby asks Mike to focus mainly on Garabedian and learn everything he knows
about the case (probably Keatons worse acting in the film but still, almost unnoticeable). Perhaps
its the need for action of any type that forced McCarthy to invest so much in scene complexity, but
whatever the reason was, its working great. Mike and Robby join Matt in the archive room. What
the hell is that smell? / Theres a dead rat in the corner. / What have you got? / Church
directories.

These little chit chats make the conversation feel much more realistic while allowing us to catch our
breath and take a small break from the heavy theme of the story. Same thing with the light switch
but Matt offering his glasses to Robby is a bit too much. I mean, who offers his glasses to someone
else? Anyway, just like that, our team discover the holy fingerprints that separate the good from
the bad priests. Seconds after the divulgence of the term sick leave which was made, in a way, by
accident, Robby shows why his reputation precedes him by immediately trying to locate the second
priests status that could match the pattern. As soon as the second sick leave is spotted, we see
the close up in the church directories and then Mike says whats in everyones mind. Its an official
designation! This is how you create action without anyone breaking a sweat. Immediately all three
turn and look at the shelves that are filled with all the information regarding priests and their
assignments, going back 25 years and instantly reach for them as if they could somehow vanish.
They have a goldmine in their eyesight and they know it. Robby rapidly gives the order for the books
to be moved in Spotlights newsroom, but unfortunately perfection is ruined by another coincidence.
The moment they finish with their discovery, Sacha calls to inform Robby that there is no paper trail
of the cases against the church in the courthouse. We need to gain pace at this point of the film, but
therere better ways than having one major discovery coincidentally starting the moment the other
is finished. Sacha could have called ten seconds earlier and be forced to stay on hold due to the
discovery of the official designation. As soon as Robby told Mike and Matt to take the books
upstairs, he could have lifted the phone again to talk to Sacha. Meanwhile, in an extremely low
pitch, Sacha couldve kept talking, failing to realize that she was on hold, in a natural ambient sound.
Still it wouldve been a huge coincidence but a lot less obvious.

Not perfect but were now working on higher gear. In a dj vu entrance, Macleish once again heads
towards his conference room, while Sacha and Robby are waiting. Theres something different about
this meeting though as we can now feel the tension between the two sides growing and growing.
Macleish clearly doesnt want to be there answering questions from Spotlight any more. He feels
more defensive in disclosing information regarding the cases he handled but he is forced to admit
that the reason behind the absence of any relative documents in the courthouse lies in the way
these cases were handled. It was a private mediation between him, the church, the victims and
sometimes an extra pair of hands brought in to offer further assistance. All were explained in
relatively lawyer language so the transition into Spotlight works perfect as junior and Sacha explain
to us the essence of what we just heard.

So this was all under the table? / Theres no paper trail. At all! Theres a journalist in every one of
us and this includes the viewers as well, so as soon as the case becomes a little too complicated,
McCarthy and Singer brilliantly call the use of team meetings as a chance for us to catch our breath,
summarize what weve learned so far and decide the best way to move forward. And if you didnt
take the hint from Steves earlier panicky effort to learn information from Matt about Spotlights
progress, Junior now makes it clear. The latter is now approaching the case with the same interest
our team does while offering unique insides as well. Macleish has got a duty to the client to get
the best deal he can. One could say that he switched sides but I think that he simply chose one.
Office opulence doesnt make the lawyer and we see how Garabedian now is lifted into our teams
eyes and Macleish becomes a part of the problem they have to expose. And legal ethics aside Ben,
I mean operating the way Macleish has, all but guarantees that the abuse stays under wraps. As
the story becomes clearer, so does the big obstacle our team has to overcome. How can they
confirm the 14 bad priests? They have the directories to guide them but theyre not enough. They
need confirmation from somewhere. Conflict established but we still have a clear path to follow.
Saviano has arranged more victim meetings for Sacha, and Mikes relationship with Garabedian has
evolved, so we can assume more to come from that angle as well.

Next scene is the Catholic charities gala and it starts with a subtle message from the church towards
Baron. The editor in chief of Boston Globe, isnt on the guests list and an accidental meeting with
Pete saves him the embarrassment. Pete takes advantage to have a friendly chat, and seems to
know everything that went down during Barons get together with Law. A few minutes later, Baron
meets Robby in the main hall and from their conversation, Robby learns about his bosss meeting
with the Cardinal as well, and the welcome present he was offered. Yeah, well the Cardinals not
known for his subtlety. During the Porter investigation, he literally called down the power of God
on the Globe. / Howd that play out? / A week later, our editor broke his leg skiing. The
conversation is funny, casual and doesnt feel forced at all. But despite being smooth, the
information this dialogue provides speaks volume about the size of the problem our guys will face.
Cardinal called down the power of God on Globe, because it was reporting on one priest (and he
wasnt even under Law as well come to learn). At this point we know that Spotlight is checking out
more than a dozen predator priests. Instead of having incidents progress in an unnatural manner, for
example a lengthy encounter of other people with Baron and Robby inside the Gala, we cleverly
transit to a restaurant where Mike is meeting Garabedian.

This technique of overlapping scenes helps the creators on several fronts. Obviously the transitions
work more smoothly while saving significant time becomes a natural outcome rather a forced
application. McCarthy, like I explained during the golf and baseball scenes, combines in a specific
way different scenes that bear however a similar, if not identical, theme, thus multiplying (especially
the latters) their power and influence on the viewer. I didnt mention this precisely, but when
Sullivan implies that the editor job shouldve gone to Bradley, a connection with the previous scene
can be made and someone wouldnt be far off in suggesting that Steve was prepping Junior for the
same thing. If this is true, then a plan was indeed set in motion in order to overthrow Baron before
he managed to grow roots. When Mike and Garabedian talk about the Churches competence in
hiding the horrendous tracks their pedophile members left on the scenes of their crimes and its
ability to make crimes completely disappear, subconsciously we return to the gala with a different
mind-set. Furthermore, the similarities between Garabedian and Baron are apparent, with the most
obvious one being the outsider fighting the system concept, thus we now have deeper
understanding of one of the protagonists, without having him explain or even do anything. At the
same time, the connection between Mike and Garabedian becomes much stronger and the lawyers
smart and powerful quote before the transition, spills even more fuel to the fire. Mark my words
Mr Rezendes. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one.

Back at the gala, Robby joins Sullivan at the bar. Another observation about the whole coincidences
concept can be made about Robbys timing and his arrival at the exact moment the bartender is
serving Jim his pint. Also, when Jim orders another beer, the bartender appears to have one ready.
Theres plenty of different qualities a glass of beer might have but I dont think warm is one of them.
Sullivans first comment is about Baron and that he appears to be a decent fellow, an opinion that is
as similar as day and night, compared to his last opinion of the man. Obviously we are meant to
understand, in a very smart way, that Sullivan regretted having the previous conversation and
wishes to make amends. We notice that the conversation heats up as it goes, because Robby is now
a lot more invested in the story and wants to get to the root of the problem, therefore the memory
of their previous talk during golf, serves perfectly the spark role and gives Robby the green light to
push his friend. Anyway, when Robby does push Sullivan for information regarding the lawyers that
helped the church settle the abuse cases, we see the first, small, crack in their friendship. The quality
of the acting and of the dialogue adds some serious weight to the feeling. So, this would be the
Robby Robinson Ive always heard about but never met. Huh? / Listen to me Jimmy. You want to
be on the right side of this. / This is the church youre talking about Robby. Look around, these are
good people. Done a lot of good for this city. Enjoy the party. In a very smart way again, Sullivan
lets Robby know that he has already chosen a side, or so were, brilliantly, let to believe. After all,
even if one is simply a friend of the church, when confronted with such an appalling truth we would
naturally expect him to at least distance himself a little bit. Sullivans remark forces Robby to
understand that hes not simply going after a few bad priests and Law in case the latter is part of the
scheme. Sullivan tells Robby that hes going against all these people in the room, and the only logical
explanation for his words, is that he is part of that circle (and if you are against us, I will leave you
alone in the bar and go join them!). Robby has his answer about his friends involvement. He just
doesnt know the extent and here comes the same expression we got at the end of the golf scene.
Robby got shot down yet again by his friend.

In the next scene, our team gets together to talk about their findings. Matt has already done some
research on the directories, work that has helped him identify a few other terms the church used
designate bad priests and their employment status. The way we progress from this conversation to
the next one, which is the Sipe phone call is perfect in its simplicity. While in a frame of all four
members of the team, we suddenly can identify the subtle sound of a ringing telephone causing
Mike to get up and exit Robbys office. While Matt is still talking, we can barely hear it but Mike is on
the phone talking with Sipe. In the middle of the teams conversation about the discovery of the
pattern, Mike rushes to the door and informs them that he has Sipe on the phone. The introduction
of this extremely important scene is top level. You can see and appreciate the amount of work the
architects invested in this film in the next shot as well. We got narrative continuity of the highest
order and now its time for cinematography and acting of the same class. We transit to a close up of
the phone and we can hear Sipe talking on speaker while our team is gathered around conducting a
telephone interview. Instantly, we begin to zoom out and move away from the table, gliding through
the desks, books and other stationary, as if the camera is on a boat floating a calm sea. The shot is so
beautifully designed that as the camera moves away, Matts pen slowly comes into the picture. Its
possible that most of the viewers might not even notice this beautiful piece of cinematography
because of the dialogues importance and quality of acting, and thats another sign of the effort
invested. Sipe tells Spotlight that 20 years ago, a report was conducted about abusive priests,
describing them as a million dollar liability. Law got word and initially tried to fund it, but ended up
shelving it instead. During this amazing zoom out that lasts no less than 2 minutes, Sipe managed to
leave everyone speechless, including us. Savianos 13 priests dont even come close to his estimation
of the problem. 6% of all clergy act out with minors he argues! Thats approximately 90 priests in
Boston alone. Suddenly the biggest story in Boston, has evolved into the biggest story in the world.
9/11 doesnt even come close in my humble opinion, especially if Sipes estimations apply with
similar accuracy in the rest of the Catholic, and not only, world. Even if they dont apply with perfect
accuracy, the fact alone that he predicted the 90 from a mathematical equation meant to calculate
the worldwide problem, sends shivers to any decent human being and makes Spotlight look like
the tip of the iceberg.

In their bosss office, Junior is having the same reaction to the number Sipe gave Spotlight. The value
and realism of this particular scene will be examined later on when I will be addressing the Robby
character, since Im of the humble opinion that its unnecessary and somewhat contradicting with
Robbys disposition. Narrative wise, we need to examine both Sipes comments and Sipe, and thats
exactly what Bradley requests from Robby. A new problem arises, and it has to do with the sheer
manpower Globe will need in order to pursue an investigation of this magnitude. Robby is the first to
calculate this more or less and by necessity he decides to approach the problem from a different
angle. They will use the directories to identify the bad priests and not locate them and confirm
through the books. After all, they have the designated, official, terms for priests who rape and
molest kids. They have a word for everything, these guys, except rape. Im of the opinion that the
humour in Spotlight is intentionally placed in narrative positions where its really needed. Their
efficiency level is of the highest order and once again I must stress out the importance of breaks,
especially in a two hour movie whose theme is the rape and molestation of hundreds of kids in real
life.

Second music sequence is coming up, as our team combs through the directories in order to locate
all the priests whose designation matches their idea about benched scumbag priests. Almost
everything is thought through by the architects of Spotlight. Their research into the world of
journalism and collaboration with the actual members of Globe who uncovered the scandal certainly
paid dividends. Almost in every scene we see the division of labour that characterizes a team of
journalists in real life. Here, everyone is going through the books while Matt is assigned with the task
of compiling an electronic list that includes all the priests and their victims in alphabetical order.
Various different shots allow the viewers to realize that this job requires several days and nights of
work from all the Spotlight members, and simultaneously changes the scenery, and type of shot,
cinematography wise. Time becomes an illusion, and with this beautiful choreography of sound and
image, we finish the sequence. Thats what I would have done and it wouldve been pretty good. But
McCarthy isnt satisfied with good and the interruption of the expected outcome by Matts
discovery, again reminds us that imitating life is no walk in the park. It takes imagination and
extensive research but its worth it every time. I would love to know if the real Matt, actually
discovered the abominations in his neighbourhood, or if this is a brilliant idea someone else came up
with, but the outcome is the same. Its a little twist that sprinkles the storyline with fairy dust and
multiplies the total tension. It might not be obvious, but by taking this little scene out of the
equation, the sequence becomes flat, normal, simply good. Action out of nowhere, like I already
mentioned while talking about the Mike-Garabedian altercation in the elevator shaft, and like the
jokes, I also believe this is part of their design, intended to constantly change the means through
which information are delivered to the viewers.

Matt storms out his house and the camera is waiting for him. We follow him through the darkness of
the night as hes running towards a house, 200 meters away from his front yard. Cinematography to
be admired yet again, as the beautiful frame that kept us in the action, turns and delivers Matts face
the exact moment he makes the discovery. No freaking way. But, and I will talk about this later on,
trying to imitate life is a slippery slope, and even though the destination is an oasis, mistakes are
bound to happen. Bringing us so close to Matt makes us feel about him and his family. So, where is
his family? His boys and girl (If Im not mistaken ) dont see their father for the majority of the day,
so when he comes home, one would expect them to be all over him. Yet, theyre nowhere to be
seen, and the same goes for his wife. Mistake becomes bigger when one realizes that in Sachas
case, this is exactly what we see as soon as she returns home. Furthermore, establishing a strong
connection between Matt and his boys especially, would have empowered this scene, and final
product, in a significant manner, and created a much stronger viewer feeling of anxiety and fear on
his behalf, not to mention providing the only POV this movie lacks, the POV of potential victims or
victims that are still little kids in age. This is a movie about child abuse after all, and failing to utilize
Matts kids is a very big minus for me for the reasons I just stated. Ones you realize this, the message
on the fridge becomes an even worse adaptation of Matts reality and makes us wonder about the
quality of his character as well. But as I already said, imitating life is no walk in the park and perhaps
the real Matt agreed to cooperate fully with the filmmakers as long as his family was completely left
out of the story. Even if this is the case, another way to involve little boys shouldve been
implemented. In Spotlight we have four primary types of individuals involved. Journalists, lawyers,
priests and victims (could be still young or much older). We see the story from every angle, except
perhaps the most important. This is exactly why the bike scene later on is so strong. More of that
wouldve delivered an even more powerful message to the viewers.

To the next scene we go and the completion of the list. Before talking about it, I want to recall the
discovery of the directories and the instant reaction from all three guys to that immense realization.
These people work for the same thing, so as soon as the final name is written in the list, a reaction
from everyone and their overlapping joy works perfectly. The number is 87, and Robby has an
instant reaction to that number but he shouldnt have. Its safe to assume that he asked the total
plenty of times before Matt compiled the list and their workplaces arent exactly separated. After
Robby gets the final number, he asks for Macleish on the phone and at the same time, he calls
Sullivan for confirmation. This is not just an investigation any more. Its becoming personal, and
when Sullivan again refuses to talk to him about it, something breaks inside. Macleish will be the one
to find that out (aside Sacha who mustve seen whats coming from his reaction), and building Robby
up like this is master crafting. A clear now view of the horrific problem and the refusal of people,
especially friends of his to help out, boiled his blood.
The perfect transition to illustrate this, is directly into Macleishs office, and thats exactly where
were heading. Macleish is on his way out, but Sacha and Robby are already there waiting for him in
the lobby. I just told you, I dont have time for this crap now. / Eric. How many priests did you
settle? / Robby, you know I cant tell you that. / Youre gonna give me the names and the names
of their victims. / Umm are you threatening me? / Weve got two stories here. Weve got a story
about the general clergy, and weve got a story about a bunch of lawyers turning child abuse into a
cottage industry. Now which story do you want us to write? Cause were writing one of them. Its
a major twist, prepared in the previous scene so well, that seeing Robby get angry and attack
Macleish makes perfect sense. The first major character arc for Robby was of course hidden in plain
sight, at the exact moment Sullivan hang up on him, and this is simply the aftermath of that internal
earthquake. The way the conversation ends is another major twist that adds even more tension and
conflict, exactly at half time. Macleish tells them that he has already sent a list of names years ago,
20 priests, and Globe buried the story. Our suspicions, generated from some characters like Steve
for example, and their bizarre reactions and attempts to discredit anything attacking the church,
now become reality. Globe has been a part of the problem. Despite the shockwave, Robby insists
Eric sends him the names of those priests and their victims.

The intermediate scene with Mike at his home, talking to Sipe on the phone while cooking dinner,
adds even more gasoline to the fire. For whoever failed to realize the language the previous scenes
spoke, Sipe makes it clear. The Church will go after whoever attempts to open their closet and
publish their crimes. Again McCarthy connects unrelated scenes in order to make them a group and
boost their performance. As soon as Sipe warns Mike, the phone call is abruptly cut off and we hear
a loud knocking on his door. Mike asks who it is and Junior answers from the other side, Its the
Archbishop of Canterbury. Whole scene wise, this is neither funny nor frightening. Feels like a very
poor thriller adaptation or some cheap spy movie and it has no place in this picture in my opinion.
Simply feels too fabricated and coincidental and fails to add anything. But we do learn that the
reason Mike is always alone at home, is because hes working things out with his girlfriend. Maybe
the story and the work required, is taking its toll on our characters personal life. Obviously the size of
the story, is forcing them to look at the mirror too and recognize the extent of their inadequacies.
Especially for a guy like Junior, who basically has been running the paper, the feeling is obviously
there, but at least he appears motivated to see this through. A good excuse is vital for him. Saviano
was a fucking train wreck five years ago. We didnt miss anything. This story needed Spotlight.
Again the theme goes hand in hand with the one the previous scene had. Globe didnt simply slip
Macleishs names under the rag, it also buried all the information Saviano gave them. Furthermore,
we see that the characters are now forced to look everywhere for signs, telling them who is to trust
and who isnt. Even within the Globe family.

In the next scene, finally something tangible comes into Spotlights possession. Its time for the big
man to get involved. Directly into Barons office we go, as hes reading the list Macleish send to
Robby. Forty five scumbag priests for whom he settled child abuse cases. Seeing the story through
different POVs is essential and here comes one of the main reasons. While everyone is excited
about the possibility of going after 45 monsters, Baron with a bright comment about Law calling
down God on Globe for a priest that wasnt even a member of his Archdiocese, lets them know that
theres a bigger story here. Their reactions also excellently illustrate the point Im trying to make.
Mike and Sacha are shocked, but Robby gets Barons drift straight away and forces the rest to shut it
and listen. Show me that Church manipulated the system so that these guys wouldnt have to
face charges. Show me that they put those same priests back into parishes time and time again.
Show me this was systemic, that it came from the top down. / Sounds like were going after Law. /
Were going after the system. The fact that Junior is the last of the big boys to understand what is
going on, gets him off the hook as potential schemer yet again. Little details like Robbys glasses and
Matt playing with the pen cover supplement the mise-en-scene and add even more realistic spice to
this delight. The break is completed, we have gained our breath and regained our focus and are now
ready to move towards a specific direction. Its time to focus on the institution and not just the
individual priests.

Another directing-cinematography masterpiece is coming up and aside the apparent beauty, I really
cant stress enough the value of maintaining tension with a scene that bears no action whatsoever.
Its brilliant to watch and a lesson for the majority of filmmakers, especially those still aspiring to
improve their craft. Forget the movie for a second and the importance of the dialogue. Spotlight is
two rooms, the big one with one entrance and Robbys office, which is separated by another door.
The camera is waiting inside when our four protagonists enter the room in a very pacey manner. It
feels like theyre attacking the camera which is backing off, while theyre talking and spectacularly
twisting and turning in order to avoid hiding it, pretending its not even there of course. Im guessing
a meter before Robbys door, the cameraman stops so that Robby has enough space to enter his
office. At the same time, Sacha is going the other way and Matt also storms into Robbys office to
have a conversation. Camera turns, and Keaton who mustve been moving pretty quickly off camera,
is already standing next to his pc, posing to check something out by using the mouse. As soon as the
complex move is over, and this is important as well, we switch into a normal close up of Matt thats
now talking to Robby about the treatment center he discovered in his neighbourhood. Not
overdoing it, makes in my opinion the technique work even better, even if one can argue that
maintaining it wouldnt have fitted the dialogues needs. Its almost invincible to the untrained eye
but subconsciously works wonders and achieves what was intended perfectly. It keeps us on our
toes while maintaining the anxiety and tensed state of mind the previous discoveries generated. This
is directing and cinematography and then some, all of the highest order. Information wise, we know
that Sacha and Matt will go after every victim they know, and Mike also mentioned that the hearing
for the motion is scheduled for next Monday. The construction of this sublime scene, on top of what
I already mentioned, works also as forerunner for the next sequence. Matt drags us into his little
world, and like him, we are now worried about what will happen with his kids and the other kids of
his neighbourhood. But, thousands more are in danger.

Like in a relay race with our narrative wearing the Jamaican colours, the next music sequence gets
the baton. Sacha and Matt are trying to track down all those victims. It builds up gradually, as we see
them knock on several doors before getting an answer. Some are annoyed by their presence and
send them away, while others talk. A few visual components inform us that these parts of the city
are habituated by poor people. In the background, we can spot two magnificent church towers,
overlooking the area. And in touching distance lies the absolute contrast, with drug users hiding in
dumps that shelter their broken dreams. Some victims talk, and all their words speak of the same
horrific truth and story. Crime without punishment, served to the victims after immense pressure
from everyone else to keep quiet, including their friends. Sipe in the office is another small break, as
he informs Mike that several of the pedophile priests he treated, were psychosexually stunted with
the emotional level of a 12 year old. Sacha and Matt are creating a mural using the list of bad priests
and their victims along with the entirety of the information theyve gathered so far (Mike asking
Matt if he can print it makes it easier for us to connect the dots), before storming out again in search
for more interviews from witnesses, victims and pedophile priests. Having them interview all sorts of
people, including a cop, makes us interpret the scale of their research as extensive, while at the
same time feeding us with several different images that satisfy our visual needs and expectations
and keep us yearning for more. The same idea is applied to the texture of the interviews, evident by
Matts disorderly flight when confronted by the angry brother of one of the victims. Again, this
technique is vital for the success of any project but in this case, it simultaneously speeds up our
investigation without denying us important information. We have moved in fast forward mode
through our narrative and are now able to see in much more detail the interviews that matter more.

Through a beautiful curtain frame, we see Sacha coming up a few stairs and knocking on a door. A
sweet old man comes into the picture and welcomes her with a smile. Mind-bending how perfect
these four seconds are, and even if this is close to how the interview played out in real life, McCarthy
deserves praise for the adaptation. The contrast between father Paquins friendly face and Sachas
shocked reaction to the confirmation of his identity, leaves little in doubt. This is one of the
pedophile priests and this magnificent introduction keeps the door wide open for the interview to
proceed. It doesnt paint the real Sachas journalistic skills with rare colours but its apparent that
her task will not be that difficult. What I mean with this is that an unaffected by the confirmation
Sacha wouldve confused the viewers at first, but quickly we wouldve understood and smiled on her
behalf. Anyway, Sipes words spring to mind as it becomes clearer and clearer that father Paquin is
still a little boy who might be even more damaged than his own victims. His comments open another
door, one that were not allowed to enter, but simply peek inside. He himself was a rape victim and
in his disturbed, destroyed little world, molesting kids is like fooling around, especially if you dont
get any pleasure from it. His connection with reality is almost non-existent, thus his sisters reaction
and reprimanding, is reminiscent to one of a mother towards her naughty child. Its so surreal and
yet so realistic and shocking at the same time. Door shuts forcefully in Sachas face and starts the
countdown for a finish just as beautiful as the beginning of this scene. I will speak further about this
scene and especially about the quality of acting involved later on. Sacha is coming out Paquins
porch, writing like crazy in her little notebook everything that just happened, obviously trying to
avoid forgetting anything, when the joyful voices of two young boys who are engaging in a bike
contest in the adjacent street, electroshock her back to the real world. But Paquins little world and
the real one are connected via geography. His house is situated right next to a school. This is one of
the strongest scenes in the film and its brilliant, but this success once again reminds me of the
mistake, in my opinion, to band other kids from having an apparent influence on the narrative,
especially some who we would expect to see, like Matts.

Yet again, the intensity of the scene requires a distraction and so we go into the courthouse where
Albano is making his opening statement in Globes account. Apparently its Monday, so we must
assume that Sachas interview with Paquin was conducted earlier the same day, because of the
school bus. Joes (Herald journalist) presence in the court room is a brilliant addition because it
provides the creators with the freedom of going through the motion against the church in the
narrative, without actually boring the viewers to death. Joes joke is another example of this
methodology and as I already argued, its essential to the preservation of the viewers interest,
especially in lengthy films like Spotlight. Aside this, Joes interpretation of how the case is
progressing, contradicts previous estimations, thus obviously preparing us for its success. To sum up
what this little chit chat between Mike and Joe accomplishes, I will repeat its capacity to move the
narrative forward while allowing us to skip the heavy lawyer stuff, simultaneously serving as a much
needed break from the soul eating subject of the film and on top of the aforementioned, it offers
significant information that present the architects with a chance to resolute Globes motion without
making the viewer feel that the progress is coming out of the blue or opposing everything we have
learned so far. Everyone thought that the case would be dismissed, and fast, but Joe makes us think
otherwise. Achieving all these in a few seconds while looking perfectly natural is pretty good
filmmaking in my opinion.

The natural, realistic look, comes under the spotlight in the next scene. Were inside Spotlights
newsroom and with a beautiful still shot we see Sacha explaining to Robby what went down with
father Paquin. Robby is relaxing, with the chair tilted all the way back and because of the positioning
of his hands that are supporting his neck, we cannot even see his face. Sacha is using body language
as well, a very good adaptation of someone talking about something while he/she is still trying to
process it as well. At the back we see Matt working on the mural, with colourful little notes now
covering almost the whole piece, which is another very smart way of pushing the narrative forward
with a single picture and without saying anything at all. After all, a picture is worth a thousand
words, and this one suggests that our team has had a thousand words, perhaps a lot more since the
last time weve seen this mural, with victims, pedophiles and other Bostonians. The amount of work
and thinking the creators put in this film is apparent almost in every frame. For whoever thinks that
Im overreading by talking about Robbys posture, I call the next frame as my witness. We now see
only Robby and hear Sacha talking to him about the interview, but between his fingers that are still
placed behind his neck we can now more clearly spot his glasses. Talk about attention to detail! The
conversation heats up but Robby still talks in that uncomfortable position which feels like a cry for us
to notice that brilliant posture, but the information communicated makes it a lot less spottable. He
breaks from it a bit too late for my taste, when Matt approaches him with information regarding a
bad priest, Robby personally knew from his BC high years.

Back to the court room, an illusion of sorts gives us an indication of how things work in rotten
systems. Sweeney reprimands Albano for using the Cardinals name one too many times during his
argument. Instead, she advices him to use the term Archdiocese, a request that raises plenty of
eyebrows in the courtroom, while at the same time giving the Churches attorney, Rogers, green light
to attack Globe. A few seconds later however, she accepts Garabedians objection on Rogers
accusations about smearing the Cardinal, thus discrediting in a way our previous assumption. The
scene is clear, but it lacks in strength and we kind of need that. Outside the court room, we will, as
the narrative gets a very big push with a lawyers fist fight, even if it comes in the form of storytelling.

Garabedian is resting on a bench, having lunch, and behind him we can spot another beautiful
church tower. This is a city with a very strong connection with the divine, especially architecturally
wise. Hearing the bell at the same time is too much and it seems like another cry to pay attention
and notice the obvious. If Im not mistaken its Monday around noon, so the bell is irrelevant
anyways. Regardless, Garabedians storytelling is a lottery for Mike, since he basically learned that
fourteen of the most damning documents Globe is suing for, are already public, or they should be,
because of Garabedians persistence on the matter and desire to bring these child molesters to
justice. Nothing works like real life and the realism behind this story again makes me think that this
is how it actually played out. The story is simply flawless but Garabedians request that the
discussion stays off the record makes no sense, since hes already in the trenches and the incidents
hes describing to Mike are as he mentioned public, but saying something that is simply wrong also
lies under the normal. The fact that the documents cannot be found in the courthouse, even though
theyre public, keeps the tension on the high. Mitch are you telling me that the Catholic church
removed legal documents from that courthouse? / Look, Im not crazy, Im not paranoid. Im
experienced. Check the docket. Youll see. They control everything. The ending is simply
spectacular. A calm, experienced, Garabedian, gets up and moves towards the courthouse like this
conversation never happened. The contrast with Mike however makes me laugh with my heart,
because of how powerful it is. This is exactly why carefully building a character up from the start
bears great rewards. Mike gets up and runs like a crazy person in the opposite direction. In his mind,
Garabedian just handed him the key to the kingdom, the means to bring down the dark tower, and
the testosterone that is running wild inside him, testifies for the quality of his character. I can even
believe him when hes talking to himself while running down the stairs. Like in most scenes,
McCarthy makes yet again sure that the cake is frosted. While Mike is running towards the parking
lot, the two gentlemen he runs by, stop and stare. After all, this is exactly what it would happen if
one of us saw Mike running by, while blabbering what we translate us nonsense. Look at this from a
wide angle and you can easily Spot McCarthy and Singer creating tension and conflict out of nothing.

Before the transition in the archive, we see Mike running through the Boston streets in a fitting
progenitor and successor of the previous scene. He gets the Geoghan folder, but seconds later, he
realizes that Garabedian was right and that the files are simply not there. The fact that he seems
surprised lets us understand that he either didnt believe the lawyer about the churches power of
influence or his positivity caused him to miscalculate the chances of discovering the documents. He
will either handle this alone or he will need guidance from above. The transition into Globe and
Robby checking the BC high documents, assumes the latter while at the same time pushing the
narrative on another branch. Despite my assumption, Mikes phone call to Robby lets us know that
he has already learned how they can force the court to refill the documents. Albano told him that
they just have to file another motion, asking for the documents to be replaced. Mike is calling from
his car, and as miniscule as this might seem, for me its another proof of McCarthys implemented
style towards approaching scenery concerns.

When attempting to recreate real life, addressing issues that dominated the real characters actual
life, even if they are not part of the story youre trying to tell is essential and failing to add the 9/11
tragedy wouldve been lethal, especially for characters that live inside the journalistic spectrum. The
point of view its been told however, with Laws speech in national television, makes it a plus on the
storyline instead of an obstacle. We see Laws other self, the leader qualities that undoubtedly
coexist with his other attributes and make him who he is. His speech is motivating and reminds us
that there are two sides in every coin, even to a rusty, covered with deadly germs coin that is
Cardinal Law. In the Globe newsroom however, one wouldve had expected a different sentiment to
govern the atmosphere but we get a relaxed, methodical, calculated attitude from everyone
involved. Feels unnatural and if Im right about McCarthy, I wonder how he missed, if he indeed
missed it, such a perfect opportunity to add further tension and conflict into this picture. No
patriotism, anger, or signs of simple confusion and sadness. Perhaps 9/11 is a taboo thus explaining
the shy touch of the subject.

Especially confusion wouldve worked great and explain Mikes overreaction to Garabedians
decision to refill the documents in his absence. So what if he cant go and get them himself? Sacha,
Matt or even Robby can do it, in case the task proves to be demanding. This narrative highway fails
to add high level drama to the storyline, and even if the viewer is unwilling to investigate like I did, a
simple why doesnt someone else go get them? is born into their minds and stays there for a long
time. But, perhaps Mike sees this project like his own baby, and craves personal recognition for its
success. If this is the case, his overreaction becomes natural, and the same goes for his actions, but
Im still not buying the fact that Robby didnt took care of something so trivial, leaving instead the
resolution of the story they were pursuing for months, to sheer luck. Or maybe, just maybe, the 9/11
tragedy almost caused another one, with certain characters taking advantage of the situation and
the chaos in order to sabotage and burry the Spotlight story... Mikes reaction to Garabedians
refusal to promise a delay of the documents refilling however, is acting of the highest order.

Sacha meeting Saviano scene serves as a connection between the pro 9/11 and the after, with a little
twist of conflict derived from Phils threat to treat the Herald with the story. It also informs us
viewers that a month and a half has gone by since the big tragedy, subconsciously reassuring us that
the terrorist act no longer chokes our story. In the next scene, Robby calls Mike in Boynton Beach
and informs him that Garabedian refilled the documents, asking him to wrap up whatever hes doing
and return to Boston. Sacha querying Robby whether to let Saviano know that Spotlight is again on
the story, can be considered as the last act in the 9/11 sequence, which in my opinion is the worst
part of this picture. Its filled with actions that dont make any sense, bears little to no emotion and
worst of all, it feels like a bad piece of art thats forced into a much bigger, much better project. The
whole Mike must run and fly in order to get the documents before anyone else, has no validity or
connection to reality as I already argued, Sachas meeting with Saviano doesnt add any important
information beside his fears that Globe might bury the story again, with our focus being of course to
the word again, and theres no emotion coming out of it whether its patriotism, anger, confusion
or a real threat to the Spotlight story. Finally, Savianos comments about Globe burying the story,
certainly cannot be considered as a revelation if ones takes into account all his previous comments
and the comments on the matter of concealment by several other characters. Even the way the
sequence finishes, with Robby suggesting to Sacha a dinner with Hansi, is a mistake in my opinion,
since these people have just came out from the biggest story the United States of America recently
encountered. You dont tell someone who missed thirty or forty dinners with his companion that
You tell him to have dinner because the nightmare is about to begin again, or its not over yet.

Were still in the same shot, cinematography wise, but we now enter the next sequence with Sacha
approaching Robby and handing him over a clip that proves Globe had knowledge of at least 20 bad
priests from 1993, but apparently buried it by not following up. Macleishs accusations spring to
mind as were once again reminded that almost everyone is to blame ... Matt looking at the picture
on his fridge transcends as a feeling of worry generated by the passing of time pre-publication, and
Robby is meeting up with a friend from his BC High past.

The restaurant scene with Kevin reattaches us to the Spotlight story and reminds us the importance
of our task. The emotions are so strong that we once again dive into the cesspool of the human
psyche. The moment Robby mentions father Talbot, Kevin becomes a different man, an animal filled
with anger, ready to attack. In complete contrast with the 9/11 sequence, this one gradually builds
us up towards the big finale. Placing Kevin at the beginning is a brilliant idea, because it gets us into
that fight mood again, eager to see the culprits pay for their crimes. Were now ready for action, but
theres no real action in this film, in the form everyone is accustomed too. I have already talked
about McCarthys ability to create action related feelings, from scenes that normally have none and
the next scene is yet another example of his brilliance.

Mike comes out of an elevator, and he sprints with the cameraman on his tail through several
people that have just exited the Suffolk County records, while screaming at the same time to the
official thats closing and locking the door in his face. Hes too late, but first Ill talk about this
cinematography and action wise. It works great as the next step in building tension (again
connecting scenes that multiply the desired effect!), and the attention to detail is again spectacular
once you really observe all the individuals in the scene except Mike. Everyone is doing something
different, moving across their own narrative, a collision of worlds like in real life. Mike acting like
crazy, punching and pushing the door seems like a good ending, similar to a big explosion in a real
action scene. The transition is funny because Mike goes from being last to being first, but this time
he is waiting for the same archive guy to open the door and not the other way around. But, as I
already mentioned, I dont find believable the idea that Mike has to be the one picking up the
documents no matter what. Furthermore, I dont like coincidences, and he arriving at the last second
(previous day) creates a conflict within the narrative because it simply doesnt agree with Mikes
character. He lives for this job, this story, so its kind of hard to believe that he managed to fail so
badly and instead of arriving first or somewhere in the middle, he came last and was therefore
forced to come again the next day. But the alternative, despite lacking on realism, its funny, it
dilates the pupils and builds up the tension, so one might argue that its better than the real thing.
The quarrel between the two men, when the archive guy clearly indicates that he has no intention of
handing Mike the documents despite the fact that theyre public, builds up the suspense and also
illustrates yet again that Mike can be smart when he needs to be. The facial expression of the
archive guy, when Mike asks if theres a judge that handles this kind of things, also suggests so.

Before we progress further with Mike, we transit into BC High were Robby and Sacha are meeting up
with some school representatives, including president Kemeza, regarding the allegations against
father Talbot. Robbys fuse is still short and we realize that he picks the story from the point he left it
before the 9/11, with the same attitude he greeted Macleish in their third meeting. His aggressive
style forces the president to admit that if he was in his position back then, he wouldve known about
the allegations. He doesnt mind admitting so, simply because hes not in the same page with Jack
and Pete Conley, who interpret the phrase protect the school as protect the church by hiding the
actions of the sick priest under question. Robby picks up their intentions and reaches out to Jack on
a personal level. Mmm, I ran track. You know I went to Providence yesterday to talk to one of
father Talbots victims. He played hockey here. And hes one of the better ones. Hes got a wife,
kids, good job. About ten minutes into the conversation, the guy breaks down. You know, couldnt
stop crying. Said he could never figure out why father Talbot picked him. Father Talbot coached
the hockey team. So I guess we just got lucky, you and me. Robby starting to approach the story
on a personal level, boosts the emotions generated out of the scenes he stars, and makes us connect
more with his character and subsequently Spotlights efforts. This is a character arc, and the fact that
Robby is changed as an individual by this story, is exactly why I want to separate him and elaborate
on his character further down the line. Without involvement on a personal note, its impossible for
the viewers to really connect with the characters and Robbys arc couldnt have come at a more
suiting position narrative wise. And this power isnt simply an illusion, created for our sake. Even
Pete remains speechless after Robby speaks to them from the heart. Maybe hes affected as well or
he simply knows that this battle is lost. Outside the school we get confirmation that the scheming
isnt something born out of our imagination. Robby requested a meeting with just the president, but
the subject in the agenda demanded reinforcements. Its like everyone already knows the story. /
Yeah. Except us. And we work right there. Right there meaning the Boston Globe and the big sign
becomes visible only when the timing is perfect. It looks designed off course but I wonder how easy
it is for the viewers to realize and appreciate that in order to perform this 24 second shot to
perfection, the creators had to calculate the time required for Robby and Sacha to have that
conversation and combine it with the speed of their walking in order to discover the correct starting
spot for the shot! And this magnificent shot is completed without them escaping their perfect center
frame position even for a split second.

Back to the records establishment, Mike is approaching Judge Volterra with clear intention to gain
access to the public files he wants. The Judges first response as he invites Mike into his office proves
how important really are these little details that the architects of a film insist of having. His All
right has annoyance as dressing and the attempt to treat every conversation and character with the
outmost respect is crystal clear and deeply appreciated as far as Im concerned. Attempting to reach
such heights bears countless traps, thus the several mistakes, but not many have the courage or
nous to really go for it. Again Mike is a breath of fresh air and his response when the Judge questions
the editorial responsibility of the journalist or media organisation that seeks to publish the sensitive
documents, makes me really wonder if this conversation really took place in the manner it is
portrayed. Well, wheres the editorial responsibility in not publishing them?

Maybe 83 bucks is a bit too much for some copies, but making a joke by simply illustrating a
character in action, is pure art and achieving to do so in a film of this nature is even better. Ruffalo is
brilliant without doing anything exceptional. His daughter isnt lying dead in a ditch a few meters
away like in Mystic River, so its impossible for him to reach acting of that divine level (Im not saying
he can or cant), but hes really bossing Matts character in Spotlight. The dozen hey! to the cabbie
thats speeding away, again create tension out of nothing and forces us in a good way to connect
with his character even more. His actions also boost the storyline since were now craving to know
what he has learned and why hes acting like a madman. The instant (as soon as he sat in the cab
and Ill talk about the cab later ) phone call with the heavy breathing is adding cherry on top of the
cherry on the cake and the focused level pitch tone of his voice despite his running feels like hes
actually trying to transmit the information he learned, with the respect they demand. Its simply
incredible filmmaking and acting! But why stop there when there are even more techniques that
can be applied in order to further improve the already sublime product of this sequence. We hear
Mike, but watch the taxi instead, pacing through the city but in a tempo that allows us to fully focus
and understand the content of the letter hes reading for Robby on the phone. At the same time
Mike is reading, the driver passes through a little playground, where Patrick is pushing his toddler
son on a swing. As the sequence progresses, we can still hear Mike reading letters but we now see
him exiting the cab and running to get inside Globe and then through the stairs. Then instantly, we
transit into Spotlights newsroom, where Mike is now standing, still reading the same letter but live,
to the rest of the team, while the acoustics change in order to match the altering of the perception
of sound.

This is a letter from an auxiliary Bishop that broke ranks in order to inform Law himself about father
Geoghan, a clear indication that Cardinal Law knew but chose to do nothing for years. Robby calmly
accepts that this is indeed proof of Laws involvement and again praises Mike for his good work, but
his demeanor is moderate. Something is still holding him back. The conflict between an exuberant
Mike, the thrilled Matt-Sacha and Robby is apparent and I will go on a limp here and suggest that
this is designed to pave the way for Mikes outburst. If it is, then its a mistake in my opinion. If
Robby also displayed his enthusiasm but still blocked Juniors involvement thats coming in the next
scene (means the story is done and its time to write the reportage), it wouldve been even stronger,
more realistic, and it wouldve provided Mike with an even better excuse for the outburst.
Regardless, its a tiny thing and it doesnt under any circumstance take the artistry out of the
equation of the scene. The altercation between Mike and Robby is sensational but even though it
boils our blood, fact of the matter remains that experience here, even if its being expressed in a
lower tone, is right and as much as we want Mike to be correct in his assessment, hes wrong. Now I
dont believe that this is clear from this scene, and to be honest Im combining my understandings
with those derived from the next scene inside Barons office. On the contrary, those dark spots on
Robbys character still generate slim possibilities of a cover up, but his explanation of how this thing
must play out is convincing. Ruffalo is again brilliant but I think that the yelling kind of helps him out
with this one and it doesnt compare to the show he presented a few minutes ago. Information wise,
we know the contents of the letters more or less and now we have tension building up inside our
team because of their disagreement on the felicitous way to proceed. But Robby is in charge and he
wants to wait

In the next scene, we observe how the story is affecting the rest of our characters, those who prefer
hiding their frustration and anger. Sacha is taking it out on the washing machine when Mike knocks
on her door and interrupts her conversation with Hansi. From their talk on the balcony we can
derive that Sacha has stopped going to church with her Nana and that Mike has calmed down and
regretted his earlier reaction in Spotlight. Im wondering about the necessity of this scene, but
without this little break and talk about religion, church and existential issues, the result might have
been much poorer. At the same time, Robby is meeting Pete for a drink per the latters request. The
reason becomes lucid from the cheers (To Boston) but this time Robby doesnt feel restrained and
quickly shows that hes not biting. I will open a parenthesis here and discuss mise-en-scene issues,
because in my opinion, it couldve been much better. This is a very small bar, and even if the
bartended (Brian) clearly knows Pete very well, the music is so low (almost non-existent) that its
safe to assume that everyone can pick up on their conversation. Pete is scheming to cover things up,
so either hes very bad at choosing an appropriate location, or this is a mistake from McCarthy.
Display of power wouldve worked if only Brian could overhear the conversation. When the whole
bar can, is plain wrong. Nonetheless, this is not that visible, and the scene otherwise performs its
purpose. Three minutes in the conversation and after Robbys brilliant comment about how things
get done A guy leans on a guy, Pete is transformed into a little Cardinal Law, actually leaning on
Robby and issuing threats. As Pete is leaving, Robby makes sure that he (and we ) knows the story
is going to be printed, and that the Globe will need a comment from the Cardinal.

Robby is then informed via phone call that Judge Sweeney has ruled in Globes favour and ordered
for the documents to be unsealed. Everyone is happy with the development, including Mike.
Instantly we transit into a conference room, where Albano is informing Globes hierarchy about the
Judges decision and sets the date of unsealing around Mid-January. Metro wants to write a piece
perceiving the development as a major first amendment victory, but Robby sets a blockade and asks
Peter to step out instead. The moment Peter refuses to comply, Robby pushes towards Baron a file
with information. Before Baron gets a chance to open it up, Junior asks Peter to leave the room in a
smart little twist that pushes the story forward while simultaneously explaining the relationship
between our characters. Junior couldve waited to see whats in the files, but he chooses not to, thus
showing to Robby, Baron, Peter and especially us, that he trusts the formers judgement. Its subtle,
but adding all these little details inside Spotlight and you realize their formulae of success. As soon
as Peter is out of the room, and Baron with Junior get a picture of whats going on and the quality of
the material Spotlight has acquired, the meeting gets a different tone. Junior and Baron have been
left in the dark for weeks as illustrated by the confrontation that follows with Robby. Furthermore, it
seems like Juniors and Barons opinions comply with Mikes as they make clear that not printing the
story leaves them at risk of someone else parachuting and stealing, or even worse printing
something wrong and destroying the story altogether. Look, Im close to stories on 70 priests. We
nail that, along those letters, this is proof that this is bigger than Law. Its the whole system. / Too
risky. If were not buttoned up on every single one of them, the church will pick us apart. Being
on the right side of this (especially since the first 14 documents became public) has a big influence
on Junior. At first I thought it to be character inconsistency, but now Im of the idea that his arc
shouldve been even more obvious. Hes more focused, certainly more happy, and his comments are
insightful, words of a man who knows his craft and wants them to succeed. I think I can get us
someone from the other side of the aisle. Juniors point (being buttoned up on every single story
) forces Robby to admit that he has plans of recruiting from inside the Catholic Church. This calms
the spirits a bit, and we now see Junior accepting it by suggesting that they should also focus on
giving Rezendes the time he needs to write the story. For obvious reasons, dropping it on Christmas
wouldve been stupid. We can run it just after New Years, before they release the rest of the
documents. Baron agrees with the proposal and gives Robby six weeks to get confirmation.

Out we go, as Junior and Robby are walking and talking. Junior wants a draft of Mikes story by
Christmas while reminding Robby of some important aspects of the story they should pursue,
including a quote from Law. The real point of the conversation comes with the curtain, as Junior asks
his friend for a heads up, when the same scenario presents itself again. Will do, is the direct reply.
Their relationship now seems to be picking up tempo and everyone who matters is finally on the
same page. Tell me that this doesnt subconsciously feel the viewers with positive feelings about
whats coming Ill talk more about this scene cinematography wise, in another chapter.

Its the perfect time for yet another music sequence. Our team has to interview more victims, and
Mike has to write the story. We know what will more or less happen from either task, so why watch
them again in detail. Recognizing this, the viewers expectation, and knowing when to surprise or
deliver is key, and in this case, the music sequence works perfectly. The silent night choir in the
background flies us above Boston during Christmas, and the images explain like in a dream the path
each character takes. Sacha is conducting more and more interviews, Mike is writing and discussing
the story and Matt is doing other stuff, including still worrying about the devil in his back yard. The
only aspect of the story on stalemate is Robby and his source, and Junior reminds him that the time
is now. We cannot go there from inside the music sequence, but it provides us with a fitting exit.
Before this, we see that Mike has finally managed to get inside a church, where we also get to see
the choir in the background. Little children singing, boys and girls, is always a good distraction and
they also remind him what the church is really about.

We couldve gotten Robby to knock on Sullivans door at any time, but doing it at night offers the
priceless opportunity for Christmas lights shining through the darkness, transforming the cold and
the snow into fairytale land. McCarthy couldve also posted Jim on opening the door duty but having
the loving, friendly, perfect smiling face of his wife do that instead, creates a genuine moment of
tension again out of nothing (how many out of nothing creations have I pointed out so far?).
Naturally, in order to maximize this, they had to make him greet Robby by basically refusing to greet
him, a decision that has its pros and cons. On top of this, Robbys way of asking for confirmation
adds even more artistry to the scene. He lets his friend know that without him, the story will never
get published, which as we already know isnt the case exactly. He wants him to do it because its
the right thing, thus maintaining their friendship after the dust settles. At this point, Robby waiting
until the last moment for this meeting finally makes sense. Hes appealing to the humane side of his
friend but hes refusing to help him make a decision, and as a result, Sullivan instantly gets angry and
throws him out of the house. This is brilliant stuff. Again with the assumptions, I have to say that
most wouldve completed the scene inside the house, coming up with a smart twist right there, but
the architects of this one, have Sullivan rushing out his house and catch up with Robby as he was
ready to depart. We change the scenery, see the snow and the lights again but this time, theres a
conflict between sound and image. The landscape is beautiful but the dialogue is intense and its
building up Hey! You come to my house and lay this shit on me? You were right Robby. We all
knew something was going on. So where were you? What took you so long? / I dont know Jim. /
Give me the list. The real dialogue cannot be heard, as is the case between people who really know
and love each other (also illustrated by the way these two talk and the fact that Sullivan threw him
out and seconds later changed his mind), when theyre having a conversation they dont want to
have. Robby at this point isnt trying to convince his friend. Hes simply answering to him. I dont
know Jim. That does the trick, exactly like it did with Jack in the BC High conference room. Sullivan
asks for a pen, and right there on the roof of a car in a Christmassy night, he writes a huge wrong, by
confirming all the names on the list. I dont know how things really played out, but having a
friendship land the final punch on such a monstrosity, simply skyrockets the viewers emotions. The
fact that both Robby and Sullivan are culpable makes it even stronger. Theres more to this scene as
well, cinematography and subsequently feeling wise, on which I will elaborate down the road.

All thats left is the story, and the next scene gets us to T minus six hours. Mike is still requesting a
statement from the Cardinal but its taking too long, and while he and Matt are talking, we get a
glimpse of the mural. Just a few little colour notes still hang on the graph. Almost everything has
been checked and now is or isnt part of the story. Allowing us to observe that, disguised under
Mikes movement to get coffee while hes having an important conversation with Matt is a prime
example of show, dont tell and as everyone knows, its what separates the professionals from the
wannabes. Donna Morrissey does call, and her statement feels like a general waving the white flag in
the battlefield, but with his face turned in the opposite direction. Again multifaceted is the vehicle,
as we see the editors plus Sacha in Barons office, making the final corrections on the story, when
Mike and Matt storm in with the news of Laws refusal to comment. We dont even want to know
what the questions are. The comment here might be laughable, but come to think of it, its perfect
because it paints Law as a man whos living in complete denial, lost so deep in his filthy little world,
that he somehow perceives denial to address the issue as the proper strategy. Again Junior is the
first to react and at this point I feel unable to not point out the bizarre arc of this character. From the
slower guy in the room, hes suddenly the boss. Perhaps accepting Barons authority and
responsibility at the same time has done him a world of good or maybe thats the message were
supposed to get. That he simply wasnt boss material. Addressing minor details at the end of the
meeting lets us understand that its time for the presses and we also hear the potential problems
with the call center and people protesting outside the Globe. And here is the perfect example of an
architect surprising the audience, instead of giving them what they expect and also having a major
twist born out of a simple, super realistic dialogue. When Baron broaches the subject of Robbys
source, wondering about Globes ability to approach him a second time, Robby admits that such a
task would be tough. This generates a heated discussion, initiated by Junior from all people, about
the quality of the lawyers character. In an attempt to raise a laughable, I must admit, issue about
duty and ethic, the creators have their characters argue about a lawyers duty to perform his job. Its
a joke (not the general concept but the fact that Jim chose to continue helping thus becoming a
silent accessory to the crime), but I realize that sometimes, in order to get the job done, one must
compromise, especially when almost everyone occupying a position that matters, carries a certain
amount of blame. He couldve said something years ago. Maybe save some lives. What about us?
/ Whats that supposed to mean? / We had all the pieces. Why didnt we get it sooner? / We
didnt have all the pieces. / We had Saviano. We had Barrett, we had Geoghan. We had the
directories in the basement. / You know what. We got it now. / Robby, the story needed Spotlight.
/ Mike, Spotlights been around since 1970. / So what. We couldnt see the scope of this. No one
could. Robby, this started with one goddamn priest. / Macleish send us a letter on 20 priests years
ago. Sacha found the clip. / You freaking kidding me? 20 priests. / When? / Uh, just after Porter.
December 93 / We buried the story in Metro. No folo. / That was you. You were Metro. / Yeah,
that was me. Id just taken over, I dont remember it all. But yeah This fantastic, surreal
discussion ends up with a brilliant expression of shame by Robby and a matching shock plus disgust
and disappointment look from his apprentice, Mike. And it starts with Robby reacting to Mikes
comment that if this lawyer talked years ago, lives wouldve been saved. This isnt a reaction
because of guilt. This is a friend becoming a shield because someone else, not just anybody (a man
he considers to be like a son), called his friend a killer. Brilliant continuity and design to be admired
Um, can I say something here? Sometimes its easy to forget that we spend most of our times
stumbling around the dark. Suddenly a light gets turned on and theres a fair share of blame to go
around. I cant speak to what happened before I arrived, but, uhh, all of you have done some very
good reporting here. Reporting that I believe its gonna have an immediate and considerable
impact on our readers. For me, this kind of story is why we do this. Having said that, Cardinal Law
and the Catholic community are gonna have a very strong response to this. So if you need a
moment, youve earned it, but uh, I will need you back here Monday morning, focused and ready
to do your job. Barons reaction on the other hand, as well as it works, feels just a bit too good to
be true. But it performs brilliantly as a summary of what weve witnessed so far, and lifts us up at
the perfect moment, so were better able to admire the sunrise. I will admit, without explaining, that
the precursor of the next music sequence, with the conversation between Junior and Baron, simply
cracked me up.

The presses pump back adrenaline into our system but Nana is a clot. Strong emotions of different
texture are clashing inside, as our uncontrollable urge to see the story finally hit the shelves initially
crashes a saint of a woman, who has spent her whole life doing whats right, visiting the church
three times a week. Another little brilliant piece of filmmaking, but also note that Nana comes at the
beginning of the sequence, so she wont alter much the victory feeling Back to the presses we go
and the papers that are now being packaged and readied for transportation, but again we transit,
this time in Garabedians office. For whoever hasnt realized whats happening, these are the first
reads outside Globe. Sacha wanted to be there when her Nana was reading the story and Mike felt
the necessity to show it to the man that made the whole thing possible, Garabedian. Can I keep
this? can be a strong expression but rarely when this accounts for a newspaper, especially one
handed over by a member of the press. Four words give us everything we need to know, plus a
smile, about Garabedians thoughts regarding the story. After all, he knows that he is the one who
made it happen. And Mike, along with the creators, knows that too. I thought you should see it
first. Leaving aside the proud feeling Ruffalo is able to send via the camera, the ending of their
encounter comes with yet another moment of magic, screenwriting wise, as Mikes good spirit is
grounded by reality. As he peaks through an office window, the picture of yet another family that
has fallen victim to filthy hands, lets him know that this victory will not bring smiles to everyone and
simultaneously, he sees the point of a finger for the first time. Garabedian opens the door and
regardless if this was planned by McCarthy or not, we see the impact on a man whos forced to walk
on both worlds. This ending approach allows me a glimpse inside the brains of the creators, who
intentionally play down the victory feeling because despite the immense journalistic success,
America has nothing to be proud of here.

Robby is inside his car, looking at the Globe trucks as theyre starting their delivery route carrying a
message, his and his friends, thats about to shock the world. Its still pitch dark, but the little lights
together with the feeling of the scene, make the picture majestic. A still shot shows Boston waking
up. This is a barrage of filmmaking artistry for the finale, as we see for the first time a set of
newspapers hitting the concrete. Its a close up shot, so were meant to believe that the reason for
this is to provide us with a brief moment to read the cover. Partially its true, but the next shot
shows Matt leaving his neighbours house. After all, we know that this is a man whose been worrying
for the safety of his kids for a while, so what else could he do (another shock moment out of
nothing)? Sacha is the first into the office so Matt arriving 3 seconds later is a bit too coincidental for
my taste. Matt is having a character arc too, as we see him admit to his colleague that he started
writing again. The horror book isnt just an exit from the dark room they found themselves the last
few months, its the exit that awaited them at the end of the finish line, and its full with precious
little gifts. They have done something remarkable and desire to live again life at its fullest is just one
of these priceless rewards. A phone call disrupts them and we go outside to the parking lot.

Mike is sitting inside his car when Robby arrives and parks right next to him. The look they exchange
is priceless and theres really no need to spoil it with words. They feel incredibly proud for their
achievement and its time for their olive wreaths. Ill talk diring the Robby chapter about the
importance of this smile and casual conversation between master and apprentice. Attention to
detail as usual, behind Mike thats exiting his car, as we can spot a few security members Baron
requested after Spotlights concerns for picketers. The fact that Mike and Robby talk about the
picketers absence kind of throws me off a bit, because it means that they were actually, even
slightly, worried about them showing up, but the power of the story doesnt really allow any
response from the system or people as individuals, as we witnessed from Nana for example, and a
good journalist shouldve known that. Its a complete victory, so why are they worried? But, were
reminded that is Sunday, and Linda suggests that it has been the easiest overtime she ever made
(she couldve said easiest shift but being Sunday and all this is another example of the effort
invested by McCarthy and Singer). She congratulates them and even though its expected, failure to
include that wouldve been crippling for the perfectionists. Linda mentioning that Marty send two of
her calls down to Spotlight, gives Mike and Robby a hint of whats going on in their office. For me its
a mistake that the top man, whos sitting alone in his office, apparently redirects all the phones to
Spotlight, without the reception realizing whats going on.

More people have been called down to help with the phones in a move that agrees with Martys
metacognition, while Matt is brilliantly frustrated and snaps at Mike for standing at the door like a
goof instead of helping them out. Theyre almost all victims Robby. So I was wrong. Today
obviously isnt the day for ceremonies and medals as they realize that they have a lot more work to
do before the citys haemorrhage is stopped. Regardless, McCarthy decided to give them one and
what better than the last shot of the film. A still shot with our team talking on their phones in a
geometrically pleasing design that simultaneously forces the viewer to stay with Robby as hes going
inside his office. He then stands over his desk and just stays there for a moment, looking at them,
contemplating the aftermath of their actions. Suddenly, as if the thoughts inside him have settled
down, he picks up the phone. This is Spotlight.

600 more stories later, some 249 priests and brothers have been publicly accused of sexual abuse
(molesting kids) within the Boston Archdiocese. Sipes estimations not only doesnt look ludicrous
anymore but a simple thought about the extent of this evil is enough to scare, worry and fill one with
anger. The fact that the Pope himself reassigned Law in one of the highest ranking catholic churches
of the world, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, also makes us understand that the problem,
if one can simply underestimate it as such, is indeed the system, and as Saviano said, it goes all the
way up to Rome and the Pope.

Chapter 2: BUILDING THE CHARACTERS ROBBY

From the beginning, McCarthy and singer chose our main characters words and actions very
carefully, in an attempt to make their connection with the audience arrive faster and in high
intensity. In contrast with fiction pictures, Spotlight is an accurate adaptation for film, of a story that
happened in real life and therefore by actual characters. This raises the bar significantly, even
though it bears the expected advantage of simply talking to the individuals involved whenever a
problem presents while producing or filming. The nature of the crime committed and the broadened
spectrum of people involved in the scheme one way or another, makes working on the characters
extremely hard for the creators. Im not talking of course about Mike, Sacha, Matt etc.
Multidimensional characters such as Robby, Junior and Sullivan, for example, present a challenge
even for the most talented screenwriters and directors, because of the character arc they go
through within, and in contrast with, the narrative. Ive already talked extensively about the
characters that dont go through major transformations and I have also elaborated on Juniors and
Sullivans dark sides, so its time to focus on Robby and the second narrative inside Spotlight as I
perceived it.

All the words that are left unspoken between him and various other characters, like when Sacha
discovers the infamous clip and hands it to him, speak of an unspoken truth (until the end at least),
that holds Robby accountable for his actions and role in this tragedy. At the same time his actions
now, like what he does after he gets the clip from Sacha, which is of course sticking with the story
and fighting with everything he has for its resolution, counterbalance the subconscious hints we get
from the picture, and dress the second story with a cloak of illusion. Several hints are scattered
throughout the storyline but his actions are so strong that by the time he admits of his wrongdoings
in Barons office, the shock is still powerful enough and successfully delivers the final twist. The
illusion is dissolved and the complexity of his character that becomes transparent by the end of the
film, draws a smile of appreciation in our faces for the careful design of this particular character and
by association everything else he touched directly or indirectly. Hiding something in plain sight in not
a task for everyone, but the architects of Spotlight have pulled it off.

At the beginning of the second sequence, were introduced to this multidimensional character. Hes
a charismatic leader, a smart, funny guy that seems to have a positive relationship with the rest of
the journalists inside Globes organisation. Hes a top dog and as we learn a few seconds later, hes
the editor of Spotlight. We still dont know what Spotlight is, but it seems to be a separated team of
journalists that investigate their own, big, stories for the newspaper. He knows what hes doing, he
knows the people that work under him and he has a way of keeping them in line with charisma
instead of whip. The first conversation he has with Mike proves this, while at the same time
displaying a relationship that transcends employer employee. He talks but not excessively, and his
words seem to be double checked before exit. In the meeting with Baron we see that hes friendly
and that hes proud about the work Spotlight does and hes smart enough to restrain himself when
his team goes under the gun. The whole conversation is constructed to imitate and transmit the
feeling of an interview, with Robby on the seeking job side, but the scene that comes right up lets us
know that he was sizing up Baron as well, as already discussed. I talked about the fact that he seems
genuinely ignorant about Barons intends to make cuts, despite Sacha mentioning the rumour after
the farewell party, so its obvious now that he was indeed hiding his cards, trying to learn as much as
possible about Barons true intentions. In the same scene we learn that even though hes an editor,
he doesnt attend the 10:30s, a choice that speaks volumes about his character and feelings
towards power. Interestingly enough, he displays the same distaste inside the meeting, when he
chose to stand instead of sitting like everyone else (how brilliant was that?). I have already talked
about Robbys reaction, the moment Baron mentions suing the church. He seems excited, surprised
by an unexpected valuable gift. This is a genius way to transmit Robbys knowledge of the subject.
Why else would he be excited about the prospect of something he has no knowledge off, but the
scene design isnt perfect here, in my opinion. By focusing on Robbys face (steady close up shot),
when the bomb is thrown into the 10:30, the creators make it clear that this is of significant interest
for this particular character and therefore the story as a whole. A general shot ( three four faces
with Robby in the middle at the back of the frame), would have worked much better in my humble
opinion, because the alternative is subtle, but still, a method that forces us to focus on a specific
character thus taking some of the mystery out of the equation. Yes this is a true story, but not giving
away Robbys secret a piece at a time would have worked even better.

But its subtle as I said, and so is he after all. This is a man that gets excited, but zips his mouth when
everyone else engages in conversation with Baron about the subject that obviously got his heart
pumping. And after the meeting, he tests the waters with Junior. Gutsy call for a first day. He
wants this like crazy but hes careful at the same time. Knowing the story, it now feels as if Baron
provided him with an unexpected priceless opportunity to right a wrong he did years ago. But when
you dont know who to trust, its hard to play the hero, unless the boss himself demands it.

So if this is true, lets examine the rest of his actions until the grand finale. He tells Mike Barons
plan, without making fun of his new boss. This tells us that he probably isnt against this but he also
knows that this is a hammering for Junior, so hes gentle about it. Hes taking the middle ground
while still managing to be his normal, brilliant self, and it really is perfect. Depends on the judge.
Inside Barons office, Robby again goes wears his whatever attitude but its clear that the story got
his attention and he seems perfectly focused. Him not jumping the wagon as soon as Baron offered
him the chance seems a bit unnatural considering his prior reactions, and feels like a curtain, trying
to hide how excited really Robby is with this story. Baron couldve easily told him to continue with
the PD numbers and asked for a different team of journalists but one might argue that in that case,
Robby wouldve made his intentions clearer. Him acting like its a normal day, continues in the next
scene when hes breaking the news to the rest of the team. Hes hiding his true feelings about
Spotlight handling this investigation. Its nebulous and incredibly fun to observe. Like a puppet
master he gets at work, throwing Porter into the mix, seemingly out of the blue. Even if you notice
the new information and categorize it under the suspicious column, a simple explanation that he just
wants to make this story his own (Baron asked him if he would consider picking this one) quickly
becomes available. First major twist of the Robby story and its almost invincible in the primary
narrative. The stories real life writes! Even when they ask him if they will drop the PD numbers he
remains cool, telling his team that theyre simply setting it aside for the moment. But despite playing
it cool, he has assigned everyone with a task and already elevated the story from a single priest to
chasing down the pattern and the 20 priests Macleish told him about years ago. He has also set up a
meeting with Macleish for him and Sacha. At this point its important to realize that this man is
setting his team of investigative journalists, into the path where he has hidden his darkest secret.
Maybe he thinks that hes too smart and he can pull this off without anyone ever finding out, or hes
simply willing to take the risk. Ill go with the latter. Beautiful!

If Im on the right track here, I find it hard to understand why he didnt go into that meeting alone
and simply request from Macleish to resend him the information they both know he has on the 20
priests. He goes into the meeting with Sacha, but his body language and expressions fail to describe
the lawyer as a friend. On the contrary, it seems like he doesnt really like the man. The brilliant joke
about that golf encounter makes a pretty good job at hiding this. Macleish mainly talks about
Geoghan, and despite the fact that Robby set the meeting up because of the lawyers involvement in
the Porter case (as we come to learn much later in the film), Robby fails to address that, and
Sacha, who doesnt know at this point its importance, understandably doesnt ask. Interestingly
enough, Macleish is the one who brings it up, while commenting on how difficult these cases are
without help from the press. The two men are having a conversation without saying anything. Its
like Macleish is saying to Robby You know I send you the list and you didnt do anything! Again
brilliant work and Macleish is the one who comes out a winner. Robby puts on hold his pursuit of the
dirty priests list.

A few scenes later, Robby is again in the Spotlight, this time with a seemingly genuine surprise to
Sachas remark about the existence of a victims organisation called SNAP. Theres a victims
organisation? Robby quickly gets off his chair and comes out to take a look at the article. Nothing
fishy here one might think, but knowing the whole story, his actions speak louder than words. If
youre building up a character that is trying to accomplish something while knowing that his actions
now, might hurt him greatly by revealing a dark secret, then logic implies that he has to be on his
toes and with his heart rate elevated at least slightly. Robby is on his toes and he displays this by
coming out to check the article Sacha discovered but he doesnt seem anxious at all. Apparently, its
not a damning article but at the same time, his instant reaction on bringing Saviano in cancels in a
way our conspiracy thoughts. Hes pretty normal again when Matt tells them about the third priest
and stays like that throughout the whole conversation that is completed with Saviano center stage,
about his involvement in the Barrett case.

We know that he will jump on the first chance he gets to meet with his friend and we get exactly
that in the golf scene. From the first second, his body language suggests that hes enjoying himself
(stance with which the scene begins) and so does his words. Sullivan is a good friend and hanging
out with him is a treat. When Baron becomes the conversation topic, Robby displays a genuine
approval of the guy, but hes not dismissing Sullivans concerns about him not being the right man
for the job. Like in the 10:30 meeting and the one right after with Junior and again the successive
talk with Baron, Robby rides the middle ground and gets what he wants. Sullivan is opening up and
from his words, its apparent that he doesnt feel even slightly bad about the accusations against the
church or so it appears. As I already mentioned, Robby is smart enough to take advantage of the
situation and asks Jim about father Barrett in a tone that doesnt force his friend on the offensive
even for a split second. The serious face at the end of the conversation, right after Jims warning,
might be contributed to fear-anxiety-worry or something else that one realizes only after knowing
Robbys real role in the story. It could be true sadness from the new understanding about his good
friends involvement in the tragedy and genuine worry from the realization of what needs to be
done if the story is ever to be printed. He will have to come face to face with his friend. Being able to
follow both paths with a single shot is pure art, and McCarthy and Singer accomplish exactly this for
roughly two hours. Robby stays almost completely hidden and as an outcome of this filmmaking
success, the viewers blame for the conspiracy (inside Globe) feeling they get, several other
characters that look and are shady.

I have to admit that despite carefully observing every scene, I failed to realize the true importance of
the scene where Mike goes into the office after running on a Sunday morning, until I started this
separate examination of just Robbys behaviour. Mike comes in after jogging, and the moment he
steps into the office, hes genuinely surprised to see that someone else is also there. I initially
perceived that as normal but it isnt. The greeting now feels different. Its not a hey anymore. Now
its How come youre here on a Sunday morning? Whats going on? Same surprised expression
continues as hes breathing heavily (another very good piece of detail that witnesses how carefully
this picture is constructed) and moving towards Robby, whos sitting in his office examining clips.
Shouldnt you be golfing or something? Again like with Sullivan, Robby is cool as ice and the
scheming idea vanishes into thin air. He couldnt be this smart could he, the real Robby? This isnt
just a genius comment to a man who has just caught him doing something, apparently, extremely
unusual and as well later find out, criminal in certain extent. This is a reply of a man that not only
doesnt feel bad about what he is doing (which is going through the various clips the archive
uncovered, especially those that include Saviano, and for an apparent reason once you learn the
outcome of the film) but hes also grabbing the opportunity to teach Mike journalism. Golfing is not
a verb. And I couldnt get tea time. This is too much in my opinion. It feels like the creators are
trying to hide the signs that testify against Robby, at precisely the next moment they come to light.
As I already said, we expect Robby to be on his toes, but we also expect him to show some humane
attributes and display at least a hint of nervousness.

We might change scenery, but its the same scene over and over again in that aspect. We see
something, but something else comes to tell us that we didnt. I didnt like it when the creators
made it stupendously obvious in the 10:30 with the close up on Robby while Baron was mentioning
suing the church, and I dont approve of it completely now when a superhuman Robby is able to
completely hide his emotions like a robot, time after time. Now, in order to be accurate I must
elaborate and clarify that I dont like it, not because its not good, but because its not perfect, and
its pretty obvious that McCarthy and Singer aimed for perfection with Spotlight. And since were
mentioning perfection, I dont think that a sweaty Mike just sat on his bosses chair, without the
superhuman Robby noticing, and blocking it. I think we gotta start ignoring everybody on this
one, shows his determination in seeing the story through. Even though Mike attracts the eye of the
viewers acting wise because of Ruffalos exceptional acting and lively character, Keaton is obviously
also great. Hes managing to pull through this double role brilliantly, but more than one people
might deserve praise for the detail I will point out now, just like I argued about Mikes pause in the
first scene inside Spotlights newsroom. When Mike asks him if Marty knows whats coming down
the pike, Robbys response is swift, indicating a man that has already applied thought on the specific
matter. The point isnt whether Baron knows whats to come. The real information here is that
Robby knows pretty much everything thats coming their way and perhaps his explanation about
Baron not giving a damn, covers him as well. Talk about a multidimensional dialogue! You can apply
four-five different explanations and still claim to have unearthed the right one. This is majestic stuff,
beautifully tugged under a layer of simplicity that deviously hides the truth from the viewer,
especially if one is casually enjoying a movie.

The next line is confusing and contradicts everything I just mentioned. Unless hes wrong. When
Robby mentions this to Mike, its a beautiful twist for the real narrative for obvious reasons. But it
doesnt make much sense for the second one. He either knows whats coming down the pike, or he
doesnt. Or its possible that he isnt sure, despite knowing the value of the information not only he
withheld years ago, but possibly, also, removed from Globes archive. This of agrees with his
explanation inside Barons office at the end of the film (I just started and I dont know exactly what
happened), but accepting what he said because of his shame or believing that that was really the
case, are two completely different things. Of course he knew the value of that information. A
mediocre or even bad journalist would have spotted the importance of that list in an instance, and
Robby certainly isnt a mediocre journalist. So this feels like a significant character inconsistency,
because we see him acting like he knows everything while at the same time witness him genuinely
conversing about the possibility of the story being non-existent. Putting him follow all the signs and
then suggest that he doesnt know feels a bit like advocating on his behalf.

Robbys hidden agenda, which interestingly enough is the same as everyone elses, adds the
sweetest layer on this cake, and really lifts this movie to a whole different level. The next Robby
scene is yet another example. Saviano is invited to Spotlight, and Robby is the first to answer his
questions. Maybe this is accidental, or perhaps, the creators are trying to illustrate how Robby is
attempting to regain his trust and make him feel comfortable. Even though we know that Robby is
the one who buried the Macleish list years ago, we never learn for sure that he was also the one to
block Saviano from protesting through Globe. This scene certainly suggests so and if this is true, then
it again deserves further analysis. To be honest, I was trying to read Savianos body language and the
direction he is looking. They start by having him not looking at Robby, but quickly this changes and
the two men are looking eye to eye even for very brief moments. Saviano not looking at Robby until
he lashed out at him about repeating his words wouldve transmitted this idea perfectly, but
perhaps the relationship between the two men isnt black or white thus explaining Robbys attempts
to break the ice. Its also possible as I mentioned, that Robby isnt the one who double crossed
Saviano, but the scene makes me feel strongly against this. Its only natural to assume that Saviano,
under normal circumstances, wouldve addressed the man in the room much more frequently,
simply because convincing him means guaranteed attention and possible publication of his story.
Also, its hard to imagine a man lashing out on Robby for not clarifying things 5 years ago, if he isnt
the one he has a beef with, and as we already know, he knows the name of the person he send all
his documentation to. Anyway, actions speak louder than words, and in Robbys case, his
instructions to the team describe a man who despite being frustrated by Savianos accusations,
wants to check out everything he said, including him. Again the scheming implant is instantly
removed by his actions. Now you see me, now you dont, scene after scene. And again, the same
thing I talked earlier about him being able to throw good jokes when the pressure is on, happens
here. You can be a pain in the ass too Mike. Sachas Mmmm completes the trick and Savianos
accusations are almost completely dissolved.

Even if some tiny doubts still lay dormant in our minds, the next few Robby scenes offer more and
more proof of his commitment to the common cause. He talks with Sacha about Macleish as if their
previous interaction never happened, and asks Juniors permission to expand the investigation
because he thinks Saviano is legit. With everything thats going on, its impossible to not visualize
how the real burying of the case happened inside Globe, and to be honest, Robby acting under
orders doesnt seem far-fetched. The continuity of the dialogue between him and Junior with Baron
in the background is pure cinema even in the complete absence of any action whatsoever. Keaton
and Slattery really boss the small scene and manage to dress in realism the whole dialogue. Actors
attention to detail and reach for perfection should be celebrated and Keatons little smiles in the
scene are inspiring and that little jump while hes saying thank you, really is next level stuff. With a
little twitch of the muscles hes basically saying Oh yeah I forgot. Thank you. Really! The fact that
they talk about Baron as theyre heading out, feels also like another little neuron connecting
Spotlight with reality. Theyre talking about the new guy as theyre preparing to leave. Its also a way
to excuse themselves for leaving and Juniors example about how hes wearing down the newsroom
is screenwriting masterclass. This scene tells us one more thing, which is extremely important. Robby
is reaching out to Junior, keeping him in the loop about the investigation, trusting him with news
that no one else knows. This means that either Junior can be trusted, or that Robby is trying to find
out if he can be trusted, or he feels shame for hiding things from him years ago and is now trying to
make amends. Its possible that Junior has a decision to make, or the truth might be that he already
did choose side. For a few scenes, Robbys second nature lies dormant, and we witness him acting in
compliance with everyone else. Even with Macleish during the second time they meet, apart from a
weird little eye contact between the two men, everything appears to be in order. This is not
surprising for me, despite their past, because Macleish is unable to know Robbys true intentions
here, and he might be thinking that Robby is trying to kill this story as well, but from inside a wider
investigation this time around. So, he keeps his mouth shut about the list he send Globe years ago
and is waiting for Robbys next move. Each man has something on the other, and up to this point,
theyre cancelling each other out.

The scene right after the second Macleish meeting again represents a normal Robby and even
though we are unable to extract much from his words, the trick lies in Bradleys presence in the
meeting. As I discussed earlier when Robby requested a talk as Junior was wrapping up ready to go
for a meeting outside Globe, Robby clearly attempts to get Junior involved. His presence in a normal
Spotlight meeting, further builds on that idea and lets us know that Robbys efforts are apparently
not going to waste. Junior seems to be on the right side of this and our confidence in the outcome
grows stronger.

The next Robby scene that is worth discussing, as far as hidden agendas are concerned, is the 2nd
scene inside the church gala, when he joins Sullivan for a drink at the bar. Robby starts asking the
question about Macleish but a split second before its Sullivans turn to answer, Robby lifts his head
and engages his friend in a blinking contest. I might be overreading again into it, but even if Im, its
the quality of this film that forces me to, so I feel good either ways. The examination becomes
obvious during the next round of questions, when Robbys tone forces Sullivan into a defensive
position and an acknowledgement of how this feels. So this would be the Robby Robinson Ive
always heard about but I never met. No matter the subject, and its a very bad one indeed, Robbys
continuous attacks illustrate, strangely, in a way the friendly demeanor between them, at least up
until this point. The context of their dialogue, to simplify things, again shows the depth of Robbys
knowledge on the matter, which is significantly higher than everyone elses involved in the
investigation. If this still doesnt say much, the fact that he never completely shares everything with
the rest should. The way the conversation ends, with Robby deep in his thoughts, feels like a dj vu
from the two men previous encounter. If I had doubts earlier about the actual feelings behind his
mask, its clear now that this is sadness for his friends involvement in the case and worry for the
things that have to be done. Its like a courtship and Sullivan has turned Robby down twice in a row.

During the telephone conversation with Sipe inside Spotlights newsroom, Keaton gives a masterclass
on how actors should speak in a situation where the person theyre addressing isnt in the same
room theyre. His body language is top notch and all this is done alongside that magnificent zoom
out shot. Im far from an expert on the matter, but I really think that directing a picture of this
nature is incredibly demanding because of all the different elements one has to mix up without
losing realism. The mistakes I think I found in this project dont speak about lack of talent, but
exactly the opposite. Im of the opinion that directing wise, The Revenant was much more straight
forward as a project and even if Spotlight was perfect (which would have been a miracle considering
McCarthys and Singers brave approach), snow, fighting and huge bears tend to draw more
attention than child molesters. Dont get me wrong, I really enjoyed Irritus modern masterpiece,
but at the same time, I feel obligated to stress out how difficult directing a movie like Spotlight is, in
my opinion, and how hard really is to deliver something of this quality. The workload invested in this
movie only in pure thinking must be in the region of the thousands, hours wise.

Now, even if the metric standpoint of 6% is the most important discovery on the matter (and it
surely is if we want to zoom out Boston), Robby and the team going to Junior with it seems a bit
childish to me and the outcome of the conversation with Bradlee asking them for something tangible
is an outcome Robby shouldve foreseen and quite frankly avoided. It doesnt add anything to his
plan of keeping Junior in the loop or does it? Anyway this is down to perception and someone
might look at it and come out with a different result than mine. But their visit arrives bearing gifts,
since its the first time that one might argue about Robby lying to his teammates. Macleish knew.
He just didnt say anything. Im forced to go back into my previous argument about Robby and the
fact that he either knew or didnt and this feels like another point designed to back up his excuse at
the end of the picture. I guess, if a man tells you he doesnt remember, and no one else can make a
case against him, your job as a storyteller is to go with that. Again, if hes lying, his ability to do so
matches and perhaps surpasses one of a psychopath. Not only hes thinking straight, Robby is able to
come with a genius move that will allow our team to construct a list that perfectly agrees with Sipes
estimations in significantly less time than the correct approach would. The man thinks better after
lying which is a little minus in my book.

The second the list is compiled, Robby turns towards Macleish, which is another indication that he
knows exactly what he can accomplish through that specific lawyer, but at the same time he
attempts a third go with his friend Sullivan. I wouldnt be asking if it wasnt important isnt
something you say to your source when finding out whether 90 child molesters live in the same city
as you do, is on the line. This is Robbys way of saying please to a friend, in yet another attempt to
get him in the right side of the battle. In his mind, this third strike out isnt just a no. If he will have to
fight his friend to accomplish this, imagine how easier it is with Macleish being the one across him
instead. Robbys anger now seems perfectly natural.

The character inconsistency of Robby emerges again from the shadows when Eric tells them that he
has already send a list of names to Globe years ago, consisting of 20 bad priests, but Globe buried
the story. What are you talking about? To whom? Someone certainly is trying to hide his tracks
since the information Macleish provided them grew wings and flew out of Globe and by the end of
the film we learn that Robby was, to put it mildly, involved. The 20 priests have become 45 since
Globe buried the story, and the new list is now discussed with Baron. Robby stopping Mike on his
tracks shows that he and Baron are talking the same language as I already discussed, and that both
of them know exactly what needs to be done in order for things to really change. In case you need
another indication of how motivated Robby really is to see this through, take a look at his
conversation with Matt, when the latter suggests informing his neighbours about the treatment
center next to them. Well tell them soon. / Are you sure? / Yeah. And his determination to
uncover the truth is a major factor in pushing this story forward as we witness from this point on.

Hes personally tracking down victims and conducting interviews, hes reaching out on a personal
level towards important characters in order to get the truth out of them (old friends and
acquaintances) and hes also the one to ground the team when Mike manages to get a hold of those
14 damning documents, that clearly show Law was covering Geoghan thus prolonging the victims
nightmare and ensuring simultaneously that more kids will fell in their trap. Hes not afraid to say
things he cannot take back, to important people like Pete, an act that can be described as a General
stepping in the battle field when the time to fight the enemys big guns has arrived. Even when
Baron himself seems satisfied, he keeps on asking for more time to complete the puzzle. The reason
behind this is of course Sullivan, a character only Robby knows about, and a person which could
cripple the opposition if proselytized, even in the form of deep background information. His
potential contribution can minimize the risk and allow Spotlight to go from one priest to seventy. As
resolution edges closer, one might even say that Robby is now the main man, and Barons only
influence is setting the timeline for publication. But even this realization isnt enough to prove that
Robby has been hiding something all this time. The primary narrative is still the dominant one
despite all the signs, and this will power up the shocking quality of the scene were Robby admits his
wrongdoings.

Im talking about two, and not one, narratives because its clear that Robby doesnt share all the
information he has in his disposal with the rest of the team, or superiors, and therefore almost all his
actions can move the story in a different way than the actions of everyone elses. Ive already
mentioned them, but to summarize, apart for the list he got from Macleish years ago (Sacha knows
in a way but shes keeping her mouth shut), hes the only one who knows Sullivans true role in the
story. Macleish told them when he and Sacha went for a visit the second time around that the
church occasionally used to bring another attorney for help. Matt noticed in one of the clips that
Sullivan helped out, but we dont have indication that he understood anything else. Apparently
Robby is the only one who does, and he also knows that Jim is adamant about helping him out. He
even hanged the phone in his face, an incident he hid from Junior and Baron when he requested
more time to find the whole truth. And with all this, we have arrived to the point that its time for
him to get his source, (Bens email) and from the fact that he left it at the last possible minute, plus
his apparent troubled behaviour, we can extrapolate that he isnt sure about this. He doesnt know if
the power of their friendship can persuade Jim to basically betray his values as a lawyer and who he
has been the last few years and put himself at risk. He has already done that (betray) with his values
as a human being so perhaps this gives Robby motivation to go knocking on this door. Still, its safe
to assume that in Jims house, he will be feeling a bit out of place. Jims wife opening the door
displays this exact conflict. Robby is attempting to pull this through, without having to admit what
hes done, but Sullivan forces him when hes also forced to confront his hideous actions. So where
were you? What took you so long? / I dont know Jim. This is the first time hes admitting of any
wrongdoing, even if this hardly feels like a confession. To Sullivan however, this is extremely
important, because it lets him know that he isnt the only one to blame, and that Robby will walk
with him after it is done. Something extremely complicated is constructed in a way that makes
perfect sense. Sullivan confirms the whole list.

After Donna parrots Laws refusal to comment, we get the whole team together inside Barons office.
The fact that Baron writes the quoted comment as if hes a stenographer is hardly visible. Anyway I
was saying that Robby wanted to finish this without facing the end of the barrel himself, but
Sullivans attempted vocal murder by the rest of the team, puts him in the defensive. Again, an
impossible situation is resolved in a way that makes perfect sense, exactly like life works. Sullivan
stood by him, even at the final hour, and now its his turn. When the rest of the gang isnt convinced
of any Globes wrongdoings, he comes clean about the Macleish list. Now both narratives meet and
become one. I will not talk again about the power generated by this scene and the unspoken words
between him and the rest of the team, especially Mike. The shock from the revelation grips them
long after the meetings end as we witness when Baron asks Jr to walk with him out. The ball will rest
where the ball will rest but we get a positive vibe when Robby and Mike enter Globe together that
huge Sunday morning.

Chapter 3: MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCENES AND CONTINUATION ISSUES

I already talked about the bravery needed when one decides to go down the path Spotlight did and
in order to further explain this, I will call upon the art of photography to help me out. Dont worry, I
will not go into detail, because I really dont need to, and on top of this, my knowledge on the
matter is embarrassing. But simply consider the depth of the art behind a professional photograph
and examine how truly hard it is for the thousands eager to impress in this field, to really separate
themselves from the crowd. In order to portray realism a photographer just needs to have film, or
power, and press a camera button. But that doesnt mean that he now has a story in his hands. For a
story, he will need various elements in his frame which will speak of something interesting.
Achieving to capture an interesting story is indeed very hard and the reason Im bringing it up, is of
course the simple truth behind the nature of film. Film is after all a collection of photographs which
when viewed in a specific line possess the ability to tell a story. But when youre not filming a
documentary, achieving true realism is really impossible. You will miss something, or a member of
the crowd will curiously turn to look at the cameras, or youll fail to perfectly connect the pieces, or,
or, or, or Keeping the mistakes on the low is truly an art that no one in my opinion has mastered
yet. Spotlight was designed to imitate life and aside significantly careful examination, it has
achieved, in my opinion, exactly this. But this is an attempt to correctly analyse the work of a group
of people who have immensely more talent than me, so its my duty to point out the mistakes I think
they made, helping them, hopefully, to become even better. The kitchen scene with Robby and Matt
really is the work of an artist from start to finish, but applying all those elements always comes with
risk.

Ive analysed extensively several scenes where this risk resulted in mistakes, such as the archive
scene, where Matt offers Robby his glasses. In an attempt to make it as humane as possible, the
creators have overdone it a bit in my opinion and also the continuation from this scene to the one
when Robby answers Sachas phone call feels fabricated but my problem with it isnt simply a lack of
realism. By binding these two story twists together youre basically forcing the viewer to feel tension
and I really dont need to compare the outcome of this approach with a scene that creates conflict
and tension naturally, like Sacha exiting Paquins house, Robby with Macleish the 3rd time or Robby
admitting his actions.

At the very first sequence, a small continuity mistake can also be spotted. Not a second after the
ADA moves away from the precinct lobby in order to reach the family, the young cop asks Whos
that? but the pitch of his voice leaves little doubt about whether the Assistant District Attorney
heard him or not.

How difficult it is to control the mise-en-scene becomes obvious while shooting outside and one of
the best examples of this is the Sacha-Joe scene at that little caf, plus their walk in the park
afterwards. Rachel McAdams is a beautiful woman, even with those cloths, so its hard for me to
accept that no one seems even a bit interested to check her out while shes entering the caf. The
two guys having their coffee right by the entrance wouldve been perfect for that task. A few
seconds later, she arrives at Joes table and in his excitement/anxiety, Joe hits the table and makes a
mess. Again not a single soul seems interested in what happened, including the waitresses who
shouldve at least offered to clean. People that are sitting a meter away from them dont even flinch.
I do like the ambient sound consisted of a mix up from all the other conversations and actions taking
place inside and just outside the caf. Also, theres a Mercedes Benz that suddenly appears in the
picture, disagreeing with the continuity of the shots. The moms with the baby strollers passing by
while Joe is having a breakdown, is the perfect example of the next level attention to detail the
creators invested in Spotlight. The moms are surely part of the plan and the continuity is simply
splendid but spotting out the first one waving to the second and stopping her for a chat in the far
background, is scene design for the critics really. Shame though (meaning wise) since a little baby
passing by as Joe was crying wouldve been perfect (also missed the chance when the first mom was
passing by. That natural conflict between a baby and the issue at hand would have been magic for
the scene). Of course Im not mentioning this as a mistake, but a statement rather of how sublime it
wouldve been to having a baby reacting to the scene with a giggle or some hand movements and
Joe secretly shaking off his frustration and greeted them with a smile (naturally we have this later
on with Garabedian after Mike presented him with a first read but even then we dont really have a
baby, toddler or kid in the scene).

The way Spotlight was constructed (imitating life) forces me to also talk about the scene where
Mike screams at Robby for refusing to publish the story. Even on a Sunday, and it certainly wasnt a
weekday since Mike had just gotten the documents from the public archive, yelling like that in a
newspaper is a guaranteed assembly of every individual within a 200 meter radius. Especially in a
newspaper, finding a guy or a gal who wont be interested is a story in its own merit.

Now that Im done with the cons resulted from the creators desire to architect multidimensional
scenes that approach spectacularly reality, its time to elaborate on the good stuff. I started this
analysis by stating out the immense importance of building for character, and Spotlight represents
the world of a journalistic medium. The cafeteria scene is the epitome of their design, but one can
argue that because of its location, control over every element inside it can be easily achieved. This is
certainly not true for the shootings that took place in Boston common ground, especially busy
streets during day light. Mike chasing Garabedian is a whole different kind of animal, and managing
to portray a rush hour scene, with everyone seemingly, or really (it couldve been shot through a van
or in some other way to keep the camera and crew disguised) minding their own business,
subconsciously plants a feeling of total control in our minds, on behalf of the creators, and allows us
to just enjoy the action thats taking place in front of us. So many things couldve gone wrong in this
scene, but paying attention to the people that pass in front of the camera as Mike and Garabedian
are entering the premises is a delight. Everyone is doing something different, adding layer upon
layer on this multidimensional scene, thus fulfilling the expectations of even the more demanding
customers.

I was hoping that the same perfection was applied in the next rush hour Mike scene, where hes
running like a madman outside the archive, yelling at the cab driver to stop, but unfortunately, it
seems like McCarty and Singer are more used to yelling than me. As I advocated for the screaming
Mike Robby scene and the absence of interest from other people inside Globe, the same or
perhaps even bigger mistake applies here, again in my humble opinion. At least ten other people are
on the same pavement Mike is, but no one seems to be finding interesting a man whos yelling like
crazy and running without even looking at either side, across a very busy, I imagine, road. Im not a
city boy, but yelling is yelling and people will always feel attracted to it, so Ill stick with my opinion
and assume this is an omission on their behalf. But, to be honest, during the first five, six viewings of
this scene, I was so elated by Ruffalos acting that I didnt care the slightest for whatever was going
on in the background, so Im guessing very few people noticed this anyway. In order to properly
conclude my analysis of this particular scene, I feel obligated to stress out how strange it is for Mike
to be taking a taxi, when as we already know and witnessed whenever needed, he owns a car. I
invested some thinking into this, and Ive come to the conclusion that someone probably thought of
the taxi as a perfect, and it is , way to connect Mike coming from the airport and his reintegration
into his Boston lifestyle. But, hes taking the taxi the day after and not the day he arrived from
Florida, so the taxi doesnt serve that purpose any more. It provides something different yes, but at
the same time, it takes a blow on the realistic structure of Spotlight.
Talking again excessively about the sequence at the end, with the victims interview and the building
of the mural inside Spotlight is overdoing it, but Ill do it anyway. What is multidimensional if not
having a little story, inside your main story, play out in the shadows. Realism wise, it makes perfect
sense that for a pool of victims and bad priests so extensive, our guys wouldve had to resort to
some other means of keeping track of their progress. The mural is perfect, and its showing us their
progress instead of telling it. Really beautiful stuff, that absolutely own the capacity to lift a picture
above its competition. Theres plenty more examples, perhaps not as impressive as the mural,
scattered throughout the timeline but unfortunately I cant list them all. I will mention again though
Robbys visit to Sullivans beautiful home and the creators decision to place it under the star lights.
The Christmas feeling offers the best, natural, conflict to the action and it balances out the equation
taking place in the feelings portion of our brains. Like in life, nature doesnt usually care about our
mishaps, and thats why it is and always will be, the best escape. Beautifully constructed dialogues
also contribute enormously to this multifaceted feeling but I will attempt to delineate separately.

Chapter 4: SHOW, DONT TELL & ARTISTRY OUT OF NOTHING

A separate little chapter, for hours and hours of thinking that really transforms a picture from a good
one to a great seems like a small tribute, but its all I got.

Brilliant in its simplicity is how I estimate the initial sequence that introduces us to the horrifying
problem and consequently Bostons legal system when priests and little kids are involved. I will
simply state, because I didnt mention it before, that from the moment the curtain is raised, the
creators illustrate the designs of the beautiful architectural plans they intend to implement for
Spotlight. In the far corner of the Police station lobby we can spot action that is of course completely
irrelevant to our story. An officer exits the room but behind him, two more are standing by the door
conversing. Most wouldve felt a police officer exiting is enough for a realistic touch, but McCarthy
states, in my humble opinion, with the two other individuals, a multidimensional design of the
highest order.

I have already talked about the ingenuity behind the creation of the young cops character, and the
role he serves in this sequence. Artistry out of nothing as far as Im concerned, since with his
presence, little natural questions transmit exactly the meaning the creators intended to, and on top
of that, we witness the inauguration of a new character into the shady criminal organisation that will
become responsible for the rape and molestation of hundreds of Bostonian youngsters.

In the very next scene, the cake is now the secret ingredient that adds the required extra flavour for
gastronomic excellence. Its naturally originated from the goodbye party, it allows the creators to
illustrate the multitasking quality of journalists (eating while walking) but most essentially it
connects with Mike so naturally that it almost goes unnoticed on that aspect. Basically Sacha and
Matt deliver to Mike the perfect reason to hang up the phone. Again brilliantly simple and theres a
reason this approach is considered to be the pinnacle of filmmaking. Its incredibly hard to come up
with and it ghosts by the majority of the viewers, so you may not even get kudos for it.

Same thing goes for the conversation that takes the baton from this scene, with Mike and Robby. I
already mentioned how much I like and admire Ruffalos little pause, but the same goes for the pause
Robby has by the end of the scene, even if the message is much harder to decipher. Apart from
serving the obvious reason of its existence, which is to discredit subconsciously for the viewer the PD
numbers story and create therefore fertile ground for the cultivation of the monster priests and
raped/molested kids story, it works magic for the relationship of our main characters in a sequential
manner. Mike can choke on a cake when Robby reprimands him but the experienced editor can also
shut up when wonder boy sticks to his guns. Theres clearly something more between the two that
surpasses the humble nature of a boss employee relationship. Its clearly more like father and son,
or master and apprentice. Im not sure if I like the way we treat the other two characters though
(Sacha and Matt talk about the story in an excited manner, admitting that they both think its a good
story) and it really feels as if McCarthy and Singer are sacrificing them for the greater good (they
dont even make an argument when Mike says twice the exact opposite of what theyre thinking).

The cake has now transformed into a book that Baron is reading in order to acclimatize faster with
his new surroundings. Curse of the Bambino may serve as an ice breaker for some people, and I
certainly agree with that, but it also paints the new character we are introduced with. I already
argued about the message delivered by scheduling their meeting on the weekend and how this
clearly sets the power bar for each character and reveal some of their human attributes, but the
book opens another window, only in Barons psyche. This is a man who wastes no time, perhaps to a
point where he becomes obnoxious and antisocial. Why waste five ten minutes waiting for Robby,
when he can read 4-5 more pages from the book. Hes a bull and his job is the red cape. So far so
good, but choosing The curse of the Bambino from a million choices is another cherry that will go
unappreciated by the mob. It works great for the Bostonian viewers and its intellectual enough to
match Barons character and needs. Its also silk smooth in delivering its message. Four scenes so far,
four magic touches from the creators.

The pre-meeting scene lacks the design under investigation but this doesnt mean its not good. On
the contrary, it works perfectly as a little break that also delivers valuable information. The meeting
scene on the other hand is again sprinkled with that special filmmaking magic dust. Ive already
talked about it so I will not elaborate again, but having Robby stand instead of sitting like everyone
else, is show, not tell filmmaking, and it explains to us viewers important attributes of Robbys
character aside his apparent different status to everyone else in the room (hes only technically an
editor).

The next scene that goes under the microscope for the purposes of this chapter is the first meeting
with Baron. Baron is hard to read, as Robby admitted a bit earlier, so its not easy to spot the true
purpose behind his remarks. When Junior mentions that Sweeney will be tough because shes a
good catholic girl, we are allowed a glimpse into Barons mentality with a face close up that displays
him smiling with disgust, if I may. The man cannot believe what hes hearing from almost everyone
inside Globe, but he has to strategize in order to achieve his and now Globes goals. Instead he
disguises a direct attack towards Junior, by seemingly having a conversation with both men. He
invited them over to get Spotlight to handle the investigation, not talk about the quality of the job
that was done before him. Junior with his remark instigated that little blame talk, and even if hes
speaking, I will enlist this under show, not tell because what he really wants to say, he talks it with
his eyes. The hateful smile in the beginning and the eye contact with Junior when hes asking Is that
right? Also when Junior replies by mentioning the names of those who worked Geoghan, I couldnt
be of course sure but I think its yet another incident of show, dont tell. What this really tells me is
that Junior was genuinely embarrassed by what happened in the 10:30 and is now ready to argue in
the old Globes, and his of course, favour. Barons design is so brilliant, its actually a show, dont tell
source with every other word that comes out of his mouth. He seems like a relaxed guy, slow talking,
maybe even a little sweet for an editor in chief, but the way he doesnt back down and manage to
win every major battle he encounters is admirable character design. But in danger of overreading
every smart dialogue into a show, dont tell example, I will stick with visual, mostly, findings.

In the very next scene inside Sachas house, we have a little Jesus accompanying her as shes doing
the dishes. Its a glimpse really, but who is equipped enough to talk about the subconscious impact
these little images have on the viewers. Again, despite a matching dialogue, were shown that this is
a house of God, perhaps even a better example than those huge architectural wonders with the
enormous ceiling vaults.

Were skipping a scene and go diving into Garabedians little world the moment Mike steps a foot
into his office. Dozens of boxes and thousands of documents tell us a story and so does the absent,
in a way, receptionist. Show, dont tell, this is a lawyer whose well over his head in work, and his
screaming also illustrate to us how this reality is affecting his mental status. Same goes for Macleish
of course, as his conference room and suit tell us the exact opposite and speak volumes about his
professional success. His tone also informs us how this success is affecting him. Hes relaxed,
confident, a king who just stepped in his conference room. Back into Garabedian, and his office
this time, the show, dont tell effect is maximized by the close proximity of thousands of documents
lying absolutely everywhere. Mitch is indeed swimming in paperwork. But, as soon as he chooses to
talk to Mike, even for a while, we get a glimpse of the real Garabedian, and he resembles a machine
gun. Garabedians fast, meaningful remarks, intent to finish this distracting conversation as quickly
as possible, allowing him to return to work and his body language is another visual component
intent to extrapolate Mikes departure. Mike couldve asked him if hes allowed to talk to his victims
anytime during that meeting, but McCarthy chose to put him outside Mitchs door, fighting to
keep it open while asking this question. This is another brilliant show, dont tell of Mikes character.
He will get the maximum he can from any conversation, even one that was supposed to end with
him being on the other side of the interviewees door.

The music sequence doesnt count as show, dont tell, even if it does exactly that, but deciding to
enlist this technique when its really needed, warrants our attention as I already argued. Now inside
Spotlight, its hard to spot this out but right after Sacha mentions SNAP, we briefly go into a wide
shot when theres no real need for it. A close up wouldve worked better, but McCarthys desire is
for us to also pay attention to Robby, as hes preparing (or perhaps deciding whether ) to ask Sacha
if such an organisation exists. Now, once you know the story and Robbys true role, its much easier
to spot things and translate so I will restrict myself to simply pointing this out.

During the baseball scene, one might argue that the beer is simply a means to get Matt out of the
picture and ease Steves way to manipulate Mike and stop the story in its tracks, but Ill focus on
Juniors statement at the end of the scene instead. Get me something solid or Im taking you off it
shows us that Junior has issues accepting the new reality and power structure inside Globe, and acts
like hes still in position to make choices like the one hes threatening to do without consulting
Baron.
Ive already discussed Robbys troubled face expression at the end of the golf scene (and bar scene)
and Ive done the same for the little one that follows outside Matts house regarding the absence of
a fence. Both lie under the same spectrum Im discussing and piece by piece, half hour into the
movie, we witness how the creators always come up with something brilliant to visualize what they
want to communicate, instead of just announcing it to us. Even the ball Matt throws a yard further
inside his property speaks powerfully in favour of a safe Boston, which is exactly the opposite of
what the movie really talks about. Inside the church, we see the strong bonds that connect
Bostonians with the Church and their laughs after a mediocre at best joke from the pastor also
display this powerful pull theyve embraced since they were at victim age.

The exact opposite feeling is transmitted of course during Barons visit to Law and the Catechism
book is apparently a very direct way for the Cardinal to show to Baron what he really thinks about
him. Ive already talked about Laws hand gestures and how they come at a point to resemble a gun
pointing directly at Marty, which if Im correct, is yet another way to point out the same feelings.

We start the next scene with Saviano, firmly holding a box to his chest, with a posture that surely
transmits to the viewers how tensed and uncomfortable this man is. This is easy to observe, but
noticing how he relaxes the moment he mentions his organisation is not so easy, but that certainly
doesnt mean that its not there! Action out of nothing in the next scene, with Mike practically
chasing after Garabedian as I augmented earlier, and of course the Joe scene in the caf where his
tensed feelings manifested into a little accident with the table and coffee cup. Show, dont tell with
Patrick too and the needle marks on his arm provide further information, along with his slight efforts
to hide them.

Ive also talked about the tea cup in front of Sacha and the mistakes in that scene as I perceive them,
but the tea cup in itself is yet another show, dont tell sign of how long Sacha has been working since
the last time we saw her. She didnt want tea and now theres one in front of her. Time has passed
by and what is this if not another example of that brilliant mural that arrives just before the finish
line.

The best films you can watch a dozen times, and still you can notice something new that will make
you smile, and in this case Im really laughing. I made it pretty obvious that I really like the scene
where Robby first accompanies Junior out of the building, for reasons that dont need repeating. But
by the end of this scene which started with both men having a friendly laugh in Barons expense, we
can still identify Barons small figure between them, far down the end of the hall, as theyre now
standing still, facing each other and talking. Designed from start to finish, precisely like many, many
more shots in Spotlight, like Matt running outside his house, Sipes phone call in Spotlight and that
beautiful zoom out, the whole of the team entering Spotlight before Matt asks Robby to tell his
neighbours, Mike running in the archive room and ending up trying to bust the door open, Robby
pacing through Globes corridors after the kitchen scene, Sacha and Robby of course walking outside
BC High, etc.

Whats a sign for me could mean absolutely nothing for someone else, but when attempting to best
analyse a film, its important to state everything. In the next scene, Mike is alone in his apartment
and apparently he ordered Pizza and hes having a beer while still working. Sipe calls, but we can
spot another beer, obviously empty, by the sink. Translate this however you want, but it could be yet
another show, dont tell technique, this time intended to speak about his life outside Globe.
In the Matt, Mac and Steve cafeteria scene, theres an old guy sitting across Steve who has no
reaction whatsoever to whats going on in front of him. Some people just dont get it I assume and
this is the POV of a guy who has no idea whats going on.

Next big show, dont tell incident comes up right about half time when Baron attends the Catholic
Church Gala, apparently uninvited. Ive talk extensively about this, but I must again stress out how
brilliantly the creators manage to transmit this war message via a simple quest list (ok we had the
Catechism book but this is another bullet). This really makes me wonder whether this incident
actually happened in real life between the respected characters. Same goes for the little
conversation that Baron has with Pete, before the latter vouches for him. The pedophiles and
their lackeys vouching for someone anyone, really makes your blood boil, therefore another win
for the creators. This time a dont show, dont tell is in line, as we realize that Baron will never
greet Law during the charity gala. Subtle as always, but pretty strong at the same time.

I talked about the subconscious message transmitted from the Mike at home scene and the absence
of a girlfriend, and now we learn that hes married (restaurant scene with Garabedian). So where
was his wife? Robby isnt the only one having a backstory impeded into the timeline. Mike has one
too, that involves around his marital status and how this story, plus everything else, affects the
quality of his life outside Globe.

Skipping Sipes telephone intervention, Ill grab this opportunity to point out yet another little sign of
how important really is to pay attention to detail, and how these little images can elevate the quality
of any picture. Its one thing having Junior lash out when he found out about the 90 priests, but
doing that while he was having lunch seems much more humane, rich and of course interesting. Yes
once you notice this, Junior questioning whether the meeting is over seems a bit out of place but I
could be misreading his way of interacting.

Lets take a moment here and assume that the incident where Matt discovers the pedophile,
neighbour, priests is manufactured and not an adaptation of the real life incident. But, the creators
need some way to illustrate how by having our protagonists expand the investigation and discover
its actual, monstrous size, things suddenly take a more personal feeling. Is there a better way to
show, dont tell this, than having Matt discover one while searching out the names from the
directories. This is brilliant filmmaking, regardless if McCarthy and Singer deserve the praise or real
life.

At this point I realize that Im mixing this chapter up by also stating some brilliant little images that
speak volumes about the attention invested by the creators, and its time for another one. Now this
might also come out from real life and how the real Robbys office was furnished, but having that
little golden like golf statue in the book case behind Robbys desk is simply magnificent. The fact that
its so incredibly hard to notice makes its inclusion even more spectacular in my eyes. Ill read the
meaning of the scene were Robby calls Sullivan to confirm the ninety as a natural narrative
progression and therefore will not include it as action out of nothing but mixing it up with Macleishs
also negative attitude, is in my opinion another brushstroke of excellence. If image wise the
continuity of the two scenes, outside and inside Globes archive with Matt, Mike and Robby (closing
door) was perfect, these two have perfect continuity feeling wise.
The Macleish forty five priests list however is bugging me, because later on in the film when its time
to make a decision upon going to press or not, Junior wants to go with Geoghan alone because if
theyre not buttoned up on every single one of them, the church will rip them apart. Well, they
already have confirmation for forty five from Macleish, so why go only with Geoghan? Furthermore,
Robby comments on how important it is to get confirmation from his source, even as deep
background info because hes solid. Macleishs email is proof that he handled cases against 45
priests and it doesnt even have to be deep background. Makes absolutely no sense to me, and I
think this is a small narrative continuity error, attributed in my opinion to an attempt of making the
real story respective choices simpler for the viewers to understand.

The master crafted shot that delivers us into the next sequence where our team combs the streets
of Boston searching for victims, has already been put under the microscope and Ill not elaborate
further on how the creators manage to subconsciously install a feeling of anxiety to us viewers, in
the complete absence of any real action whatsoever. Same goes for little conflicts that life itself
offers in abundance and McCarthy calls for their help regularly in his attempt to show us what he
wants, instead of telling it. Interviewing priests victims with the magnificent Church towers in the
background, junkies trying to communicate while fighting their own internal struggles, protective
brothers threatening to physically attack our guys in case they dont back off, cops admitting that
everybody knows (a side of the story no one pursued thus creating further tension inside the viewer)
or Paquins angel like face and smile which initially confuses and disturbs us. Its the perfect
contradiction between his horrific crimes and his sisters emotional interaction, but brilliant acting by
secondary actors is part of my final chapter. I guess my point is that filling the picture with little
sources of conflict generated from natural sources really elevates the final product. And in Spotlight,
they seem to come from the barrel of an automatic weapon, forcing us to pay ultimate attention. As
soon as Paquins sister forcefully stops the interview, the little boys and the school just across the
street provide the ultimate conflict. A damaged man who has become a monster himself, lives right
next to a source of infinite prey. To achieve this is really something, but making the kids joyfully play
unaware of the danger thus conflicting sadness with happiness too, is well beyond good filmmaking.
Sachas confused-shocked expression empowers the scenes delivered emotion even more.

In the next scene we find ourselves inside the court house, where yet another example of creating
conflict and building suspense out of thin air is delivered, and its indeed brilliant, because the
difference here is that it forces our characters to, even briefly, alter their intended course. Albano
makes an argument while talking about Law and Sweeney orders him to say Archdiocese instead.
You dont get to tag the Cardinal with everything Mr Albano. Say the Archdiocese. Why and how
the two cases got mixed up (Garabedians class action and Globes motion) is beyond my knowledge
of Boston law but Im assuming everything is in order and continue with the analysis of this beautiful
obstacle the creators implanted in the narrative. Sweeney seemingly protecting Law attracts the
immediate interest of the Churches lawyer who in one sweep accuses both Garabedian and Globe
for smearing the Cardinals good name to achieve their respected goals (win a case and sell papers).
The little clouds in the courtroom are simply magnificent and momentarily twist our story 180
degrees before the judge cools things down a bit by agreeing with Garabedian on his objection.
Action out of nowhere again and Ive really lost count of these little divine interventions.

Mike running like crazy to check the dockets lies under the same bracket naturally but this is an
outcome of Mikes character than brilliant filmmaking but who can distinguish between the two at
this point? We see that the folders are empty and we also see Robby checking the school yearbook
for clues as to who is Talbots victim. Nobody tells him, he checks and finds out for himself in a shot
that lasts seven-eight seconds. Another inventive solution to a problem that otherwise couldve
potentially threw us off the race, time wise.

Showing instead of telling is of course essential to anyone aspiring for quality filmmaking, but some
things you just cannot show. Nobody calling to inform the editor in chief that passenger planes have
crushed onto the twin towers is, to put it mildly, childish. Someone shouldve woken him up and I
would personally expect him to be first in the office. Having him see it on a little screen and act
surprised just wont cut it at least for me (compare this with the way someone instantly calls Robby
to inform him of Sweeneys ruling). Showing Cardinal Law addressing the nation on the other hand
was perfect in every single way.

Showing the emotional side of a character by having him act accordingly is no small feat, and I
realize this by watching and analysing exactly how and when Sacha decides to hand over to Robby
the 1993 clip that proves Globes prior knowledge of the calamities true extent. We have her
conversation with Saviano at the bar-cafeteria, and him accusing her that Globe will again burry the
story, so we know that that particular though is center stage in her brain. She asks Robby to inform
him that Spotlight is back on the story and when he instantly accepts by calling it a good idea, she
heads out, then stops for a second and returns to him with the clip. If this is accidental, then our
creators are pretty darn lucky. This is the perfect build up, completely in line with Sachas character
and on top of everything, it doesnt expose Robby - without losing realism. Its clear that Sacha, after
her discovery, didnt know who to trust, but Robbys instant, and constant, response in seeing this
through, lowers her defences. Why she chose to give it to him, could be attributed to a spontaneous
decision. Very complex character arc and its completed with suiting images, while working in the
shadows of the narrative. Inspiring stuff yet again.

Even though I have made it pretty obvious that I disagree with the construction of the sequence
where Mike goes after the documents in the public records building, I still have to point out how this
sequence is assembled in a way that pushes the story forward, while showing to us bits and parts of
Mikes character. Showing character is vital for secondary roles as well, and the records guy reaction
to Mikes question about judges that handle such issues speaks for itself. A scene later, Mike is up
there trying to get judge Volterra to release the documents. Pay attention to the judges secretary
and youll get another indication of how carefully constructed this picture is. Shes eavesdropping on
the whole conversation in another perfect example of show, dont tell and so is of course Mike
giving the 83 bucks to use the records guy printer. Yes with characters like Mike is much easier to
show their mental status and describe portions of their character through their actions than their
words, as the cab incident witnesses, but still picking the right action in every turn is a masters work
and so is finding the right guy for the role obviously. It also makes me appreciate a lot more the
Sacha design and how she came to give Robby the damning clip.

Right after, we mix Mike reading the letters with the way he returns back to his office. Minor
insignificant details such as him taking a cab instead of his car quickly dissolve from my brain when
Im forced to put on the other scale scenes like the one that comes right up. I talked about the
genius way the creators used to build up characters and I mentioned that showing attributes of
Mikes psyche is relatively easy but I couldnt be more wrong on how carefully Mike is also designed
to justify important arcs. I noticed earlier the value of his reaction to his first victim meeting and how
the introduction to Patrick really shook him up. Hes been busting his ass to see this through, and
because he lacks the experience, when confronted with something that is beyond his knowledge
(why its still better to wait on publishing ) he explodes in a magnificent way. This outburst was
carefully built from the beginning and the fuse was lightened up during that meeting with Patrick.
They might be heroes in their own way, but its important to show that theyre also humans and if
this cant get to them, then they have bigger problems than their interviewees. Sacha is also on the
edge, as we see in the scene right after when shes fighting with the washing machine but to be
honest, you cant use a character only when he/she fits the bill. Wheres her Nana and why isnt she
reacting to this explosion of sound. Another reason why I never really felt the love between her and
the old lady, despite Sacha mentioning her Nana in every turn

But this scene is another brilliant way to show how things have cooled off once more between our
characters and allow the narrative to progress in the same direction it was heading before this major
character arc. Its not my job to give my opinion on how something couldve been constructed in a
better way, especially in a picture this good but I cant help but wonder if the creators missed the
perfect chance for another Robby arc, generated by Mikes outburst, considering how the editor
really sees this particular employee. But maybe I was simply misreading the importance of his calm
KO of Pete in the bar scene. After wondering about the impact Mike shouldve had on Robby, Im
starting to think that this is exactly why, with a calm demeanor yes , Robby completely blocks
Petes advances and basically chooses right there to completely cut off any ties with the other side,
despite the obvious personal expense. Pete was right in a way... Where was he gonna go, in case the
story went sideways. Maybe, just maybe, Mike influenced him so much, that he decided on an all or
nothing approach. Perhaps Im overreading again, but I just cant see the slightest effort from Robby
to indulge Pete on a conversation. This reads like a fuck off! But I just realize that I was making yet
another mistake but focusing my attention solemnly on Robby. This is also a visual display of Petes
character, especially after that leadership presentation he witnessed in the principals office in BC
High. I already talked about his reaction, being reminiscent with someone who accepted that
particular battle to be lost and on top of that, he also got a glimpse of Robbys power of conviction
and his determination to see this through, so he set up a private meeting in this bar in order to try
and persuade him to back off, any way he could, threats included.

Next one under examination is neither show, dont tell nor action out of nothing. Right after the
meeting that results with Robby getting six weeks to achieve confirmation from the other side, a
beautiful pan camera shot follows Robby and Junior walking. Again perfect center as usual, but at
the end, we see our guys depart in the exact opposite direction which results in Robby heading
towards the lens and Junior disappearing behind Robbys emerging body. I dont recall seeing this
particular shot in another film but Im sure its not a debut of sorts. Beautiful to watch and kudos to
the creators for ingenuity in every single department.

I already argued about the music sequences and how their contents cannot be categorized under
this chapter but still their inclusion offers exactly this along with a much needed break. Its Christmas
again, and what better way to illustrate this than a children choir, singing the silent night inside a
church with Christmas trees decorating every corner, but having Mike there watching as well, is a
beautiful way to display the inner struggles of a man that is ready to pull the trigger against this
rotten institution. We already covered the mural and its significance, since in every shot that its
included, we can calculate very accurately our teams progress (interviews with victims) with a simple
glimpse of the background.

Action-conflict out of nothing we have as well in the scene were Robby visits Sullivan, explained in
detail earlier in this analysis, so Ill simply repeat the different elements that are used. A worried
Robby versus the beautiful face and loving expression of Sullivans wife and again a twist with
Sullivan himself and his angered reception of his friend that results in his wife leaving the room
thinking whats going on. On top of everything, especially the dark meaning behind this visit, we
have conflict with nature represented here with white snow and bright, celebratory lights on a
dreamy neighbourhood. But I didnt speak about the design behind Sullivans reaction to throw
Robby out and so I will. He stands up, and the camera looks at him from down under. This makes
him powerful in our eyes and asserts his dominance over Robby, feelings the viewers
subconsciously get and the same goes for Robbys matching, wet dog walk, outside Sullivans house.
What this achieves is brilliant, even if it just lasts for a brief moment. As Jim comes out of his house,
we still see him coming down from higher ground and his aggressive tone and posture leaves us
wondering where this scene is going to go. Of course we learn in a few moments that Robby will
receive one of the best presents anyone got during this investigation, but masking this under a
potential physical altercation of the two men is really the work of a master. Sheridan maintains this
aggressive style until the very moment he asks Keaton for the list.

Maybe Im liking this movie a bit too much, so Im discovering beautiful curves in every turn but
what else can I feel after realizing that the architects managed to pull off, showing how we edited
Mikes piece, with a brief image of Mike, Baron and Junior or Robby a few minutes earlier, plus
Baron removing another adjective now. Eight seconds in total and an important aspect of the story
is perfectly explained. Baby shoes for sale. Never used type of filmmaking. Seconds later when
everyone is talking about Sullivan and whether he is or isnt a scumbag, the camera focuses mainly
on Robby, giving us his frustration, just before we also understand it with his words. The same goes
after his guilty pledge by showing this time everyone elses face and even more astutely, with Junior
sitting in his office after hours, lost in his thoughts. Barons arrival actually snaps him out of it.

At the end we see the storys impact on Nana and Garabedian, with some beautiful expressions that
speak louder than any words ever could, and we also witness Mitch putting on the happy mask for
the two abused kids from Jamaica Plain. I talked about the twist out of nothing we get after the first
Globe hits the concrete and how the creators manage to show the positive impact this success has
on our guys, with Matt restarting his author career by venturing into the imaginary world of horror
literature. We also see how this act of kindness has the ability to heal, wounds and relationships, by
having Robby watching the Globes trucks deliver their powerful message, and Mike smiling at him
when the two meet outside Globe. The joke between them lets us know that everything will be ok.
We see Matts frustration from answering all those phone calls, by simply asking Mike with a tone
and a hand gesture to sit his ass down and start answering calls too and finally, we witness how
proud Robby is now, by having him stare at his team for a few seconds before answering the phone
with the exact same mentality This is Spotlight.

Chapter 5: SUMMARY QUANTITY & QUALITY

Like everything, Spotlight is the sum of all its parts, and in this final little chapter of my analysis I will
talk about the balance the creators achieved, despite combining an amazing plethora of techniques.
We have a mind bending story taken from real life, a variety of characters (protagonists, secondary
and extras) that add diversity into the mixture and allow the creators to show us this story from
several different point of views and good old fashion drama and secrecy born out of these
multidimensional characters that arrive also hand in hand with very interesting dialogues. In
extreme cases such as Robby, we have actions so complicated that can be construed almost as a
second narrative, one that plays out in the shadows, before bursting its way through into primary
action with a shocking twist at the very end of the film.

The above elements are the basic ingredients but the dressing can be of the same value, since as
cinema life taught us on various occasions, it possesses the ability to break or lift and celebrate a
fabulous idea. When I say dressing in Spotlight, I mean of course the beautiful breaks that are
carefully implanted into the narrative, and arrive in diverse designs that pretty much match our
characters. We have breaks arriving in the form of music sequences, breaks enforced by a hilarious
joke or an appropriate facial expression and we even have breaks that reach us disguised as team
meetings.

By dressing, I also mean a constant change in scenery, but not one that disconnects us from the
narrative and comes out as manufactured and unbelievable (minus the taxi scene). On the contrary,
these constant, I insist, changes of environment, appear so realistic that one might not even realize
the gift he is given. Especially in pictures with such pitch black themes, offering the viewers eyes the
opportunity to calm down and regain proper pupil dilation, is as abstract as it is vital. Some scenery
changes even partially fall under the break category, as I argued while discussing the scene where
Robby visits Sullivan at his house.

Same goes (dressing) for the multitasking offered by our characters, and the information delivered
not for the sake of quantity but quality. This multitasking infected in a good and healthy way out
dialogues as well and despite being impossible for me to list all the points in the narrative where I
encountered overlapping dialogues bombing us with information and tension out of thin air, it surely
is a theme carefully applied by the architects. To be fair, I believe I encountered this overlapping
dialogue technique a lot more in the first half of the film, but I could be wrong.

I deem it necessary at this point to elaborate just a little on the complexity of the characters and the
diversity that describes them as a whole, because only by truly understanding what they offer one
can realize the extent of their application into every technique used to enhance the outcome and
produce a product of this grade. In Spotlight, every character is unique and comes into the picture
offering something different. We have Mike who is spontaneous and installs magnificent amount of
energy into the narrative but is still in a way a kid, Robby, who is as complicated as they come and as
I already mention acts in a way that challenges even the most careful viewer, Matt the family man
who cant be manipulated or think outside the box, Sacha the normal one, Baron the polite hummer
and so on and so forth

By having all these different characters, the creators gain the power of using different POVs
whenever they need to, move the story simultaneously in several different directions without tiring
the viewer (killing boredom) and ensure higher connectivity with their audience. Its just natural to
assume that every viewer will find himself drawn to at least one of these characters thus connect
with the story at a higher level. After a connection with the characters is established (characters
must be interesting and have actions that also fall under the same category), the architects have the
power to achieve almost anything. Mike running like a mad man yelling at the cab driver means
something completely different than someone else doing it and so does Nanas reaction after
reading the story. Or Matt telling us that hell start writing again means so much more when one
simply cares. To make my point even more clear, Ill say that despite some serious legal fights,
incredible investigative journalism and an atmosphere stinking gunpowder, one might argue that
resolution comes through the true friendship Robby and Sullivan share. Achieving this is no small
feat and is possible only after connecting the viewers with your characters in a healthy, very strong
manner. Same goes for secondary characters, when one aspires greatness, as we come to realize
that one of the worst villains in Spotlight, is masquerading under the guise of a church man, a pillar
of the community and the guy no one can ever say no to, when he comes asking for a drink.

Having said this, conflict and action generated out of thin air becomes possible because of these
characters. Knowing them and connecting with them early in the narrative is essential because they
can offer us all these little gifts only if we truly know and care about them. Take Baron for instance
and his crusade in enemy territory. Even if he isnt a barrel of laughs, we connect with him in a
powerful way and by really paying attention to what he does, we realize what he is able to achieve
and how. He hides his frustration for the way Globe used to handle this story admirably, but still we
can spot his anger in the scene where he appoints Spotlight the task. If you dont know or care about
the character, its practically impossible to accurately translate his actions. Examples like this one
can be found by the dozen in Spotlight and this considerably large amount of complex dialogues
offer food for thoughts to the viewers, who are then confronted with a choice. Care about what they
truly mean or simply refuse to translate. Again the complexity of the characters and the connectivity
level the creators managed to achieve comes into the picture and I realize that in my case, and Im
sure in countless others, I paid attention because I care.

By connecting with the characters on a high level, switching between POVs becomes easy and of
course necessary and allows us to browse the narrative from different angles making the reading
of the story as complete as possible. We can connect, even if we disagree, with Sullivan and see a
part of the film through his eyes or Garabedians outsider way of reading. We can even read
between the lines and realize the personal cost Robby allows by admitting to everyone his
shortcomings. The impact of him eating his words and choking while trying to excuse the inexcusable
is multiplied by the connectivity number each one of us viewers achieved while watching the film. To
summarize, I think by admitting that it would be impossible for me to state all these examples, Im
somewhat painting the connectivity with characters picture and the importance of achieving an
understanding through several different POVs.

Cinematography also has the ability to multiply the power of a scene or completely kill it despite
everything else working in pristine order. Of course cinematography is directly connected with the
directing of a picture, but at some point we will have to learn how to distinguish between the two.
Yes a director can be responsible for a magnificent shot because his instructions made it possible
and the line separating one filmmaking chapter from the other is non-existent but appreciating it no
matter what is inevitable in some entities, and there are several of those in Spotlight. I have already
mentioned hopefully all of these beautiful camera shots, but I have to admit that by adding them
into the mixture as well, the taste is simply divine.
Ill also summarize on the mise-en-scene design and praise the thinking behind the construction of
several scenes that manage through carefully implanted elements to subconsciously deliver strong
messages that vary significantly from the language spoken by the actors. Again I must repeat the
Baron-Law encounter and how their body language suggests an awkward connection translated
even as a threat from the Church to the Media man, or the restaurant meeting between Baron and
Robby that sends to us specific messages about the quality of both characters by the use of visual
elements. Same goes for the meeting with Saviano in Spotlight and how the application of lines
forces us down a path without even realizing so and of course the Robby Sullivan body language
fight when the time to confirm the list is upon us. These are simply examples picked up from a rich
market for reference and their abundance testifies for a very careful scene design and filmmaking of
extreme quality.

Finally, you can have all the above and still feel frustrated instead of satisfied with the final product.
If you disagree, please watch LArgent by Bresson as an example and in case you still do, I can
provide you with a detailed analysis of the French drama. What I really loved about Spotlight is the
attention McCarthy and Singer gave to every single detail, no matter how miniscule it may appeared
to be in pre-production. Take for example Sullivan's wife. I think its impossible to display a more
realistic feeling of joy to a friend who comes knocking. Shes in the picture a few seconds, but those
seconds stick to memory. Her husband isnt bad either but hes of course a much more important
character. His enjoy the party to Robby in the Gala is truly sublime. Same goes for Paquins sister
and her spectacular display of anger and frustration. The conflict with Paquins face is so big that one
might seriously doubt the possibility of them being siblings, but the outcome really is something
else. The Herald reporter, Robbys high school friend Kevin (especially the second he learns what the
meeting is about) or Nana reading the article. The casting that was done pre-production was so good
in some cases, that failure wasnt even an option, like the appointment of Billy Crudup as Macleish
or as I already mentioned Sullivans wife and Paquins sister (apart from the DNA apparent
mismatch). Tim Whalen who as I now realize, mustve been the outcome of a research for someone
young with a cop look and an innocent face, ripe for inauguration into the system, is another
example, and so is choosing the right face for the first pedophile priest, a shot that lasts one two
seconds and from a distance too, but refuses to vanish from memory.

All the above are simply examples of majestic acting that completely agrees with the quality of this
film in all the other aspects and really comes out as a match made in heaven. Im not mentioning of
course the main characters because I expect them to be inspirational in order to justify their
preference over all these magnificent professionals who had to settle with a lesser role. But as I said
in the beginning of this chapter Spotlight is the sum of all its parts.