Tag: spotlight

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Last but not least, I end with my reflection on the narrative films of ’15. I left this one to the end because I was trying to see as many of the 2015 films as possible, but alas, time is not on my side. So I will preface this post by noting several key films that I have not seen and, therefore, were not in the running for my top five list: The Revenant (calm down, I’m going to see it – the buzz need not determine my viewing schedule), The End of the Tour, Beasts of No Nation, and Creed. I suspect from reviews that I will enjoy and/or appreciate all of these films, and if any of them end up changing my top five, I promise to post an update. If you think I may have missed a phenomenal film from 2015, as always, let me know in the comments.

  1. Spotlight
    I wrote a review recently on this film, so please check that out. Historical dramas seldom top my list; they tend to be overly sentimental or emotionally manipulative. While I don’t dislike the genre, I tend to prefer films that veer experimental in their narrative techniques, rather than classical. Spotlight, and the second film on my list, proved to be masterful exceptions. While the film Spotlight presents the overwhelming number of child molestation cases within the U.S. Catholic Church during 2001, the movie really uses that string of events as a vehicle to explore the nature of long-form journalism through the work that the Spotlight investigation team did. The result is a thoughtful, complex film that reminds us what good journalism looks like instead of settling for a series of essentialistic, judgmental statements about the Catholic Church as another film might have done.

  2. Brooklyn
    I saw this film expecting to walk out feeling fuzzy and warm inside, declaring the film “good.” Well, I did walk out feeling fuzzy and warm inside, but the film was, in fact, fantastic. Somebody told me recently (I apologize for not remembering who) that the film reminded them of Forest Gump.  Of course the stories themselves are very different, but both stories could be considered fundamentally sentimental or heartwarming, the type of film that often earns the fate of a simplistic emotionally manipulative telling. For example, though I haven’t seen it myself, I know many people described last year’s film Unbroken in that way. But for both Forest Gump and Brooklyn, the filmmakers recognized that the emotional beats in the film tapped into deeper human fears and desires, and they explored those universal concepts in rich and aesthetically robust ways. As a result, the films resonate with wide audiences on so many different levels and, ultimately, stand the test of time.
    So what is Brooklyn about? The film follows a young Irish woman who emigrates to America in the 1950s and must navigate her emerging identity, caught between several cultures. As an immigrant myself, I very quickly identified with Saoirse Ronan’s character Eilis, but Ronan’s performance is incredibly powerful and connects viscerally with the viewer, immigrant or not. Beyond that, I will say no more because this is the sort of film that is best to simply “fall into” and experience afresh.

  3. Ex Machina
    I loved how simple this story was–the very reason others don’t like Ex Machina. The film is composed of just three characters (or two if you don’t count the android), and their interactions and negotiations with each other. The simplicity is beautiful at times and horrifying at others. And of course, Domhnall Gleeson is amazing as he has been in everything last year. According to Letterboxd, he was my most watched actor of 2015. (He’s in Brooklyn as well.)
    I wrote a lengthier review on Ex Machina last year, so I will keep this blurb short and direct you over there.

  4. Mad Max: Fury Road
    There is so much I could say about this film, and I wish that I had written a full review on it. I really did not want to see this movie; it looked like a dumb action flick with explosives and car chases. But Josh made me go, and at the back of my mind, I was curious about Charlize Theron’s involvement because she’s very intentional about the movies she takes on. Also she’s South African and a brilliant actress, so I always feel a tweak of patriotic duty to support her career. 😉
    Little did I know that the film would be a feminist masterpiece in which Tom Hardy barely says a few words, abdicating the male central role while Theron’s character, Imperator Furiosa, takes the lead to save the day–all with just one arm.  Oh and there are a bunch of kick-ass old ladies too. This is one extremely smart, subversive action thriller that re-invents every social assumption about dominance. And it’s a whole lot of fun. You won’t get much story or background; rather director George Miller throws the audience into the center of the action and leaves us working hard to imagine the narrative that surrounds the unfolding events. In a sense, Fury Road is a non-figurative cinematic rollercoaster: turn it on for the ride of your life, but don’t expect the traditional notion of a film.

  5. Youth
    I end with Youth, by one of my new favorite directors, Paolo Sorrentino. Sorrentino, who hearkens from Italy, also made The Great Beauty, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film a few years ago. The Great Beauty has quickly made it to my top five favorite films list, so if you haven’t seen it and if you like European cinema with a touch of magic realism, I highly recommend it. You can actually stream it on Hulu because it belongs to the Criterion Classics Collection.
    Youth is his latest venture, starring a mostly English-speaking cast including Michael Caine and Rachel Weisz. The film takes place in a spa resort in the Swiss Alps, where an eclectic group of characters have gathered to restore their health, youth, or inspiration. What follows is a diverse collection of conversations, both deep and absurd, that grapple with what it means to grow old or simply what it means to move forward–or backward–in life. As with The Great Beauty, the cinematography is breathtaking, innovative, and profound, coupled with another phenomenal soundtrack that mixes contemporary and classical sounds for a dialogic effect. Unlike The Great Beauty, however, I found Youth harder to comprehend and connect with emotionally. Yet I simultaneously did not feel disappointed. Instead, the movie has haunted me since I left the theater. There is a lot going on in each frame, and I have realized that this is a film that I will need to revisit again and again before I begin to grasp what Sorrentino is doing. If you live near me and are curious about the film, let me know–you should join me for one of my revisitations. 

Honorable Mention: Inside Out
Everybody saw this. We all laughed and cried. You should know why it’s on my list. If you don’t . . . well then let’s have a conversation.

 

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In 2001, Spotlight, the small investigative branch of the Boston Globe took on a new case exploring several incidents of reported child molestations by Catholic priests in the Boston area. The Globe had already reported on these types of stories for decades, but they’d never amounted to much more than scattered incidents–until the four reporters of Spotlight discover that the story is a whole lot bigger than anybody realized. And it was right under their noses all this time. 

The film, however, isn’t really about their discoveries, and that is what separates Spotlight from other “mystery” or “scandal uncovering” dramas. This is a film about the Spotlight team and its significance to the larger journalistic/media community and indirectly us–the audience.

Without giving too much away, there is a pivotal moment during the film when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occur. By this point, the team is halfway through their investigation and in full momentum, but 9/11 grinds the entire operation (indeed, the entire U.S.) to a halt. The world came to a watershed moment that day and, afterwards, time would find itself marked either pre-9/11 or post-9/11. The post-9/11 world consists of many things, and one of those things is the existential crisis that journalism faced. This crisis was already emerging before the attacks occurred, brought on by the advent of the digital and influenced by the new easily distracted MTV generation. Glimpses of the shift in journalism can be seen in the film through the Globe’s new editor-in-chief Marty Baron, who recognizes that he needs to make some serious changes to the newspaper, changes which include staff cuts. Spotlight, with its slow meticulous methods, is one of the first departments to fall under his critical gaze. His response, however, is to give them an assignment–the Catholic priest scandal–to see what they might accomplish with it.

This brings us back to 9/11, during which every reporter had dropped what they were doing to focus on the tragedy gripping the nation. The media coverage during 9/11 arguably kicked off the “breaking news” era in journalism. Since then, we repeatedly see news organizations position their reporting as a string of dramatic breaking news events, driven by a momentum for better metrics. But for Spotlight, they had an uncomfortable story that could alienate and upset their largely Catholic readership. Theirs was news that shocks, but not necessarily news that sells. Throughout the film, however, each member of Spotlight at some point reiterates that their goal and motivation for what they do is to serve the public, no matter the cost. Their work stands in direct contrast to the changing climate of journalism, highlighting several aspects of journalism that can be hard to find today:

  • Good local reporting that supports a particular community, and reporters who, while pursuing objectivity, see themselves as part of that community and integral to its well-being.
  • Journalism that seeks to preserve and uphold human rights and the safety of communities, especially in the areas in which law enforcement, legal firms, and church leadership cannot or will not fulfill their own similar responsibilities to the community.
  • Long-form journalism, in which reporters take their time in gathering and telling a full story, in context, and not just one part of that story in order to meet a deadline.
  • Journalism that seeks to tell people’s stories respectfully, providing a place for those who need a voice to be heard but not exploited.

One of the things that I really appreciated about this film was director Tom McCarthy’s depictions of the team that accomplished this incredible journalistic work. While we don’t learn much about their personal lives–this story isn’t about them as individuals–we do see snatches of each individual’s private life, enough to learn that these are four, very unassuming individuals from regular walks-of-life, but with the incredible ability to develop rapport and trust with their sources. We see this same rapport as they interact with their families. For instance Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James) worries about his kids’ safety, fretting about a neighborhood potential danger, while Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) drinks tea and attends mass with her grandmother, a woman committed to the Catholic church that Sacha is investigating. Though they all work late hours that sometimes extend into the weekends, these are also individuals who understand that their responsibility to the community begins at home with their families.

Promotional Image for the Spotlight Film. KERRY HAYES / DISTRIBUTOR: OPEN ROAD FILMS

In terms of a critique, perhaps the film could have been a bit shorter, but I am not sure what I would have cut out, and indeed, shortening it undermines the argument for long-form storytelling. I would also liked to have seen a bit more from Liev Schriber’s character, Marty Baron. It was delightful to see him in a less action-driven role like this, but the way his role is positioned leaves one expecting some great reveal regarding Marty Baron–or at least greater insight into Baron’s interest in this particular story. Instead Baron remains an elusive figure in the shadows. There are no complaints about any of the performances, however. I am usually indifferent to Rachel McAdams, but she was incredible as Sacha Pfeiffer. Michael Keaton, while no Birdman this time around, gave a strong performance, and Mark Ruffalo just keeps out doing himself every year. HIs performance was perhaps my favorite of them all.

So far this year has been largely unexceptional in regards to movie releases, but Oscar season is now upon us, and Spotlight is a clear indication of this. It is my favorite film of the year, thus far, but I am excited to see what else is in store. Star Wars, of course, I will be seeing tonight, and thankfully has had rave reviews so far. Then Monday, I’ll be seeing Paolo Sorrentino’s new film Youth, starring Michael Caine and Rachel Weisz. So for the next few weeks, expect to see a solid string of film reviews. I’ll try to keep churning them out as I see more Oscar contenders. Please let me know if there’s a particular film you want me to see and review.

This week’s featured image is courtesy of Thomas Hawk with permission from the CC 2.0 license.

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