Movie Review: Spotlight

      One of 2015's major film releases continues to draw crowds and comments.  This film came as the result of a series of articles published in the City of Boston's daily, The Boston Globe.  The "spotlight" is an investigative column published with the goal of focusing the efforts of a news team of reporters who dissect an issue and publish their findings.  It's a great concept, often used in many forms, both locally and nationally.  The story does not lend itself to easily consumed facts with accompanying photos of locations, participants, and citizens affected.  This story involved the hierarchy of one of Boston's most cherished cultural pillars: the Catholic Church.
       Ever since Watergate, the role of investigative reporters has been widely recognized and appreciated.  Here in Boston, there was no exception.  The story involved the cover up of child abuse and pedophilia by members of the Catholic clergy who lived and worked in and around Boston.  The victims were often silenced by well paid lawyers working for the Church leaders, in this case,  Bernard Cardinal Law, Archbishop of Boston for many years.  Most of the victims were children, boys and girls of various ages, well under 18.  Often, there were several victims in one family.
      When the story was finally published in 2002, the scandal shocked the Boston public.  It shamed them, and shamed their Churches and their membership.  For decades, the cover up was allowed to continue, despite knowledge by officials who preferred to look the other way while children continued to be molested and raped.
      At the end of the published series, cover ups were identified in most major American cities, and almost as many abroad.   Hundreds of millions of dollars were paid to victims, and many local diocese went bankrupt to protect assets.  Bernard Cardinal Law fled Boston for the Vatican where he resides today, out of the reach of US law.
      Perhaps Amnesty International will file charges against him?  Perhaps Loretta Lynch, US AG, will file charges against him as she did against the FIFA leaders from the Americas?   Perhaps she will file a claim against Rome, the Pope, and the Vatican Bank?   She should, but she won't.
     Michael Keaton played Robbie, a local who became an editor at the GLOBE despite being a from Boston.
     5 Stars *****- worth the money