Brief
reflections on themes and characters in “Spotlight” (2015)
Directed
by Tom McCarthy
Written
by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Starring
Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams,
Liv
Schreiber, Stanley Tucci et al.
Our film takes the form of
a journalistic procedural and the story itself is the star. Characters are well
defined and are broadened in the course of the film but they always serve the
development of the story. We witness the painstaking research and investigation
required to uncover the truth behind sexual offences committed by priests in
the Boston area in the early 2000s, but also the systematic efforts to ignore
the roots of these crimes and to protect priests and the Catholic Church from
full disclosure.
The film is constructed in
much the same way as a good newspaper article, offering various points of view
which are balanced to some degree though we are never in any doubt as to which
standpoint will win out.
The extent of the abuse
is gradually revealed to both the journalists and the audience, growing from an
apparently isolated case to a virtual pandemic involving some 87 priests in
Boston alone, with the suggestion that this is a recognised global phenomenon
affecting some 6% of the priesthood.
It becomes clear that the
Catholic Church is aware of the problem but has failed to take definitive or
preventative action, opting to transfer those priests involved rather than
dismiss them, enabling them to continue their practices in other dioceses. Each
case is handled discreetly in order to protect the priests involved and to
protect the reputation and standing of the Church in the community, with
minimal compensation offered and use of emotional blackmail and false
assurances to ensure families’ silence.
Thus, further victims are
sacrificed on the altar of Church protection and social “responsibility”, but
this seems to be a price devotees of the Church are willing to allow others to
pay for the sake of social position and standing as they turn what is
effectively a blind but knowing eye on these wretched goings-on, even
attempting to gently pressure our journalists to abandon the piece for the
greater good of the community.
We are privy to emotional
and harrowing accounts of how innocent youths are inveigled into situations
that left them open to abuse, both physical and emotional, and which left
psychological scars and long-term effects on self-respect, relationships and
general outlooks as they felt shame, embarrassment and guilt.
We even gain some insight
into the minds of the abusers through a brief interview with one of the abusive
priests, a seemingly harmless and forthright old man who appears to recognise
no accountability for his actions, vaguely dissociating himself from guilt and
responsibility while claiming his abuse of innocents gave him no pleasure. This
is not developed but perhaps he and the others rationalised their position
while failing to perceive their victims as feeling human beings who would be
traumatised by their violation of them.
The journalists are
methodical, painstaking and professional but they are also emotionally affected
by the facts and deeds they uncover. They are all too aware of the potential
consequences for the Church and community as pressure is brought to bear in the
form of emotional blackmail, haughty refusal to co-operate, probable family
conflicts and vague threats concerning social standing and job security, but
all are determined to seek justice for those abused in the past and also in the
present since ineffective official action has resulted in continued abuse that
is going unchecked.
Systems of checks and
balances in society exist to ensure standards and to protect against abuse of
any kind. However, if individuals, groups and society at large are willing to
ignore or turn a blind eye to abuse, amounting to the betrayal of those abused,
we require an external or objective source of investigation interested in truth
and if ever there was a film that justified the existence of quality journalism
as a tool to ensure accountability in society, this is it.
We assume a level of
decorum and propriety in society, so we are shocked and dismayed as, through
the eyes of our high-minded and principled journalists, we discover the nature
and extent of essentially unchecked abuse as it is gradually and cleverly
unveiled. The strength of the film is certainly in the performances but also,
and more importantly, in the measured divulgence of the facts and magnitude of
the case which ensure audience engagement and emotional investment.
My thanks for taking the
time to read this article. I hope you found it of some value.
Stuart Fernie (stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk
)
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