Five years ago, "Spotlight" rocked film audiences
And it's worth watching a second (or 3rd, 4th) time!
This is the five year anniversary of the release of an incredible film, Spotlight.
We agree with one of the public relations professionals who works with Boston Cardinal Seán O'Malley. When the film came out, he said the archdiocese "would not discourage people from seeing it" and that viewing it "should be an individual choice."
Yes, it's your choice of course. And we hope you choose to see it (or see it again). It's a powerful yet also entertaining reminder of how deceptive and powerful church officials have been (and largely still are) while also being an uplifting reminder of the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said "No lie lives forever."
It's great film.
Don't just take our word for it. Look at these facts and figures about Spotlight from Wikipedia:
-The website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 97% based on 357 reviews, with an average rating of 8.83/10.
-The website's critical consensus reads, "Spotlight gracefully handles the lurid details of its fact-based story while resisting the temptation to lionize its heroes, resulting in a drama that honors the audience as well as its real-life subjects."
-On Metacritic, the film has a score of 93 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."
-It has received over 100 industry and critics awards and nominations.
-It garnered three Golden Globe Award nominations.
-It received six Academy Award nominations.
-It was listed on over 120 critics' and publications' top ten lists.
-It was voted the 88th greatest film since 2000 in an international critics' poll conducted by BBC.
Kudos to director Tom McCarthy, writer Josh Singer and actors Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, Neal Huff and Billy Crudup.
And even more kudos to the smart, hard-working Boston Globe writers and editors, including Walter Robinson, Michael Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer, Ben Bradlee, Jr., Steve Kurkjian and Kevin Cullen.
Finally, for years and years before Spotlight was even conceived, Phil Saviano was listening attentively to abuse victims and their loved ones. He was quietly compiling media reports on child molesting clerics and lawsuits against them. And when Spotlight reporters called him, he overwhelmed them with names and information he'd painstakingly compiled and kept.
Without Phil, the Globe's Pulitzer-winning investigation might have never been possible. Congrats and thanks to Phil!