An unlikely best picture winner, Spotlight handles a devastating true story with class and respect – the 2001 investigation into widespread child abuse by Catholic priests in Boston by journalists from the Boston Globe. The cast is uniformly great, from the twitchy, agitated Mark Ruffalo to Stanley Tucci with another standout supporting turn, but its Liev Schreiber’s intelligent, understated performance that impresses most. A newspaper movie in the grand tradition of All The President’s Men, this reveals as much about faith and beliefs as it does of the extent to which the church went to hide the abusers. Not an outright classic, but a deserved Oscar winner.
