Spotlight (2015)
Directed by Tom McCarthy
The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
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Spotlight harks back to paranoid ’70s thrillers in its attempt to tell the story, with wintry visuals straight out of Alan J. ( All the President’s Men ) Pakula’s playbook and the kind of spare and beautifully loaded dialogue—courtesy of Josh Singer and director Tom McCarthy—that Robert Towne used to specialize in.
Spotlight, whose workplace rhythms and quiet intensity recalls another real-life news procedural, Alan J. Pakula's 1976 Watergate classic All the President's Men, asks in a very real way the question that superhero movies make mythic: will I use the power given to me for good or evil?
Those efforts now play out in this terrific film that will likely remind many a viewer -- if old enough or a big film fan -- of "All the President's Men" from back in 1976 regarding the Washington Post's investigation of Watergate.
“Spotlight” will inevitably be compared with the 1976 Hollywood landmark “All the President’s Men,” so let’s get the comparisons out of the way in order to appreciate this film on its own terms.
The obvious precedent for Spotlight —both as a movie and as a culturally relevant Oscar contender—is All the President's Men , but while McCarthy falls short of that standard in dread-soaked atmosphere, he proves to be an ace reporter in his own right.
The Globe staff is unenthused, particularly deputy managing editor Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) - son of the legendary editor of the Washington Post, whose presence is just one of many echoes of that other stellar newspaper movie, "All the President's Men."
The true story of the Boston Globe’s investigation into child abuse in the Catholic Church is a winningly old-fashioned newsroom depiction in the vein of All the President’s Men or His Girl Friday.
"Spotlight" is a great newspaper movie of the old-school model, calling up not only obvious comparisons with " All the President's Men " and " Zodiac ," two movies with similar devotion to the sometimes crushingly boring gumshoe part of reportage, but also Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell shouting into adjacent phones in "His Girl Friday."
From “The Front Page” and “His Girl Friday” to “All the President’s Men” and “The Paper,” America has been in love with newspaper movies.
Many truly great movies — "Citizen Kane," Howard Hawks' "His Girl Friday," David Fincher's "Zodiac" — involve newspapers.
Fourth-estate-centric films tend to focus on the glamorous or dangerous world events their protagonists are covering ( The Parallax View , The Year of Living Dangerously , All the President’s Men with its Deep Throat intrigue), or satirize the sensationalism of a corrupt media ( Ace in the Hole , Network ), or throw in a workplace romance just to glory in zingy reporters’ banter ( His Girl Friday , Broadcast News ).
En el filme, McCarthy hace un énfasis de carácter nostálgico y casi fetichista en el periodismo físico, el material tangible: papel, pluma, tinta, cuadernos, almanaques, hemerotecas y repisas llenan las escenas de En primera plana de una riqueza analógica reminiscente de otros grandes hitos del cine y periodismo estadunidense como All the President’s Men (Pakula, 1976), The Front Page (Wilder, 1974) o el clásico Park Row (1953) del gran Samuel Fuller, filmes que, además, comparten una visión candorosa sobre la ética periodística, un trabajo que en la más valiente de sus facetas, es capaz de obviar intereses y convertirse en un acto de profesional humanismo, haciéndonos saber lo que no sabemos, pero si llegar a la veracidad de un crimen tan rampante toma su tiempo, aun más tiempo tardará en llegar el castigo, sobre todo para los dueños del mismo.
En el filme, McCarthy hace un énfasis de carácter nostálgico y casi fetichista en el periodismo físico, el material tangible: papel, pluma, tinta, cuadernos, almanaques, hemerotecas y repisas llenan las escenas de En primera plana de una riqueza analógica reminiscente de otros grandes hitos del cine y periodismo estadunidense como All the President’s Men (Pakula, 1976), The Front Page (Wilder, 1974) o el clásico Park Row (1953) del gran Samuel Fuller, filmes que, además, comparten una visión candorosa sobre la ética periodística, un trabajo que en la más valiente de sus facetas, es capaz de obviar intereses y convertirse en un acto de profesional humanismo, haciéndonos saber lo que no sabemos, pero si llegar a la veracidad de un crimen tan rampante toma su tiempo, aun más tiempo tardará en llegar el castigo, sobre todo para los dueños del mismo.
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Such films include the famous (All the President’s Men, 1974) and the not so famous (Call Northside 777, 1948).
Despite not winning the main award, the Academy showed they had good intentions by nominating Taxi Driver in four categories - that both All the President's Men and Network also lost out to eventual winner Rocky shows that, ultimately, it never really stood a chance.
Fourth-estate-centric films tend to focus on the glamorous or dangerous world events their protagonists are covering ( The Parallax View , The Year of Living Dangerously , All the President’s Men with its Deep Throat intrigue), or satirize the sensationalism of a corrupt media ( Ace in the Hole , Network ), or throw in a workplace romance just to glory in zingy reporters’ banter ( His Girl Friday , Broadcast News ).
Entre otros títulos destacan El Ciudadano Kane (1941), El año que vivimos en peligro (1983), Frost-Nixon (2008), Network (1976), Primera plana (1974), Buenas noches , buena suerte (2005), Todos los hombres del Presidente (1976), etc.
One brief interview, in which Pfeiffer questions an accused priest, recalls the powerful 2006 documentary, Deliver Us from Evil .
New talent on the block Quentin Tarantino's second feature won him the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes - a success he failed to match back on home turf; while he won an Original Screenplay Oscar, Pulp Fiction got beat by Forrest Gump.
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(It's reminiscent of the row of mission control guys in " Apollo 13 ," whipping out their slide rules as one, thereby almost single-handedly expanding the concept of heroism.)
Spotlight has been compared to Alan J Pakula's Watergate film All the President's Men but there is no "Deep Throat" here.