SPOTLIGHT - review

SPOTLIGHT
Director: Tom McCarthy
Cast: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Liev Schreiber, Brian d'Arcy James, Stanley Tucci

Synopsis: When the Boston Globe's tenacious "Spotlight" team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world.

Well shiiiit. That was some fairly heavy viewing for a rainy Thursday night. I went into the Sun knowing that I was going to see one of two films - the last two available to me on the Best Picture nominee list because Brooklyn isn't out yet because Australia - either SPOTLIGHT or THE ROOM. I knew both were going to be heavy, and I wasn't fussed which I saw so I let the lovely staff decide for me. They chose SPOTLIGHT, so off I went with my coconut choc top (the lactose intolerant person has no regrets, the bloating and cramps are totally worth it) and settled in with my crochet to tick another film off my list. Walking out of the cinema I saw the friendly staff member who chose my film and she asked "how was it?" My reply? "Well shiiiit."

Well shiiiit is exactly what these guys are thinking too let me tell you

Image via eOne Entertainment

Unless you've been living under a rock (no judgements) you will know the story of the Catholic Church and the years of abuse scandals and cover ups and controversy, and you might also well know the story of the crack team of journalists who really brought it to the fore in a Pulitzer winning piece of journalism. I knew what I was in for, but I really didn't think it would hit me so hard. I've read the articles, I'm up with the facts, but holy hell, seeing it on screen like that...I mean wow. It's really screwed up.

The Globe gets a new editor, he wants the Spotlight team to investigate a story about a Catholic priest under fire for abuse. Little did any of them know they would uncover a further 69 priests along the way. The lies, the under rug sweeping of it all really gets my goat, at least it would if I had a goat (I never understood that saying, but I digress). All those years and not one person listened to the few people who tried to say something, the thought horrifies me.

Liev Schreiber as Marty Baron 

Image via eOne Entertainment

McCarthy has put together a slow building, meticulous and gripping film that is incredibly sobering. Like a good piece of journalism it gathers tidbits of information and puts them together like a giant puzzle, each piece revealing a little more of the picture, but also revealing that there are more pieces than you thought. SPOTLIGHT has been nominated for 6 Academy Awards this year and I can see why. Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Supporting Actress (Rachel McAdams), Best Writing Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Achievement in Editing. SPOTLIGHT is deserving of all of these noms, although the sadly I  don't think it will take home the hallowed trophy for any of them.

Let's talk about Mark Ruffalo, underrated and under appreciated for so many years, he was incredible in this film. I don't know much about the real people of the real Spotlight team, but when Mike Rezendes (Ruffalo) dropped his bundle, I dropped mine too. I got really mad right along side him, yet at the same time I could completely see where Walter 'Robby' Robinson (Michael Keaton) was coming from. If that's not a sign of a good script and spectacular acting and direction I'm not sure what is. Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) had the pretty shitty job of interviewing survivors, and McAdams I thought could have done a little tiny bit more - I didn't see her feeling all of the feels, and I wanted to. To be fair, that's not her fault, that's the script and the limitations of time. If you'd seen her feel all of the feels every time it might have killed you and her and it would have made the film about 70 million hours longer. I just wanted a little something extra on that front.

Their faces say it all - when you realise you're going to need a bigger boat

Image via eOne Entertainment. 

On a side note, the one person I didn't get enough of in this film is Stanley Tucci, who played Mitchell Garabedian, the lawyer representing survivors in court, no under rug sweeping allowed. I wanted more of that story, but I think that's because I'm partial to Stanley Tucci and the more screen time he gets ever the better off the world is in general. Seriously though, I am going to find out more about that little side plot that we get glimpses of because that man is a hero to many, and I want to know about it. Stanley Tucci made me want to know about it.

Mitchell Garabedian - the lone wolf, the hero 

Image via eOne Entertainment. 

If you don't mind something heavy and you're prepared to deal with the sobering fact that the world we live in is bullshit and that people are asshats, and to have yourself wondering for hours "how the hell could so many people let this happen" then I think you'll enjoy SPOTLIGHT. It is a beautifully put together film, and the ensemble cast is wonderful - not a bad apple among them. A slow build, but with a driving pace that keeps you locked into the story. Also if you have an appreciated for underrated actors like Ruffalo and Tucci then you'll want to see them in these roles. I even liked Liev Schreiber in this film and that's saying something - credit to Tom McCarthy for that one. Anyway, if you can deal with the heaviness, then I think SPOTLIGHT is worth forking out the 20-something dollars (plus snacks, it's a long haul). "Well shiiiit" is a good phrase to know, becuase there are no other words at least not ones that are appropriate and lady like and your'e going to want to say something.

4 out of 5

Xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR - review

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR

Director: Maya Forbes

Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide

You had me at Mark Ruffalo, but throw in Zoe Saldana and an autobiographical tale of a family coping with a parent with a mental illness and I couldn't have been more excited. 

Cameron (Ruffalo) lives with the highs, the lows, the breakdowns and the virtual impossibility of maintaining a steady job that come with having bipolar disorder (manic-depression) in the 70's. Unfortunately so does the rest of his family. Cameron's wife Maggie (Saldana) decides that enough is enough after Cameron's latest breakdown, and she packs up their two daughters and moves them from the country to Boston, while Cameron moves into a halfway house to recover. 

Their daughters, Amelia (Wolodarsky) and Faith (Aufderheide) resent Maggie for moving them from the country to a run down, rent controlled apartment in the shitty school district in Boston. They also don't hide their disappointment when Maggie won't let Cameron move back in with them. The girls know there's something not quite right with their dad, but they idolise him none the less and for every bad memory there is good one that surpasses it.

Maggie struggles to make ends meet, and decides to go to business school to further her own education so that she can get a better paying job and put the girls into private school. That's not a problem right? Wrong. The business school that Maggie gets into is Columbia. So, Maggie moves to New York, leaving Cameron in Boston to look after the two girls on his own, full time, Monday to Friday. 

Leave a man fresh from institutionalisation, who struggles with sustaining anything in life in charge of two young girls, sure, no worries. What could possibly go wrong? This is the question that the film deals with the most - how wise is it to leave this sort of person in charge of two children? The answer for most people would be that it's pretty bloody unwise and for the most part I would probably agree with them, as would most social workers and DHS officers. The one thing that Cameron does have going for him is his unwavering love for his family, and while he continually fails the many tests of parenting, the one thing that always brings him back from the edge is his girls. 

That is a lot of pressure for a child, but Amelia and Faith are up to the task. As embarrassing as their dad is, and for every ounce they hate their lot in life and their 'shit hole' of an apartment, they would do anything to keep their dad with them just as much as he would do anything to keep them with him. 

In this sense, the film isn't quite as affecting as I had anticipated it might be, as if we are viewing this family history through rose-coloured glasses. Which perhaps we are. Forbe's has written this autobiographical piece and is letting us into her family history, and as many of us do, when telling our own histories, has balanced the good with the bad, which we might not have found in a completely fictional script. There are some unanswered questions here too. Like, is it worth splitting your family up for 18 months so that you can send your children to a private school? Was Columbia the only school that Maggie could possibly have gotten in to? Where is Maggie's family in all this? 

You may be used to seeing Ruffalo and Saldana in big budget, hollywood blockbusters, but these two couldn't be a more perfect match for this beautifully crafted indie pic. Ruffalo did an outstanding job carrying out the characteristics of a man struggling between his illness and his love for his family. He was wild and charismatic, unpredictable and unassuming, but most of all realistic. Saldana played her character equally as well, bringing to the screen the very different sides of Maggie, the tormented woman who just can't take it anymore, the mother who wants the best for her children and will do anything to get it, and a woman who wants to be with her family, but can't. A truly ground performance of a woman who is so practical and grounded the polar opposite to her husband. As for Wolodarsky and Aufderheide, these two youngsters are worth keeping an eye out for in the future. They made me feel what they felt for the whole film, and I think that's pretty magical from two so young. 

By harnessing the good and bad memories, and entangling them with a cheerful score (put together b Theodore Shapiro), Forbes has turned this serious subject matter into a captivating and endearing film about a family whose love for one another outweighs all else. 

It is low budget, and indie, and the subject matter may turn some people off, but I think with such a great cast and some of the other great reviews coming out for it INFINITELY POLAR BEAR stands a chance with mainstream movie goers. I felt that it gave a fairly accurate representation of surviving in a peculiar family with peculiar circumstances and a parent with a mental illness (and let's face it, I would know). It was unpredictable, and sometimes uncomfortable, but the intricate details and the natural humour make it so easy to watch and to care about what happens to this little dysfunctional family. 

I say give it a chance, you will be surprised, and it's definitely worth the 20-something dollars to go and see it, and I'm all for supporting low key, independent productions, in this age of mass-produced, mass-marketed drivel. 

xoxo

The Blonde Bombshell