Lulu and I just got home from the 1 PM screening of Spotlight - the movie about the Catholic pedophile scandal in Boston and the rest of the world. I am happy to say we now both qualify for the senior citizen rate of $5. The theatre is about one mile from our home and we had what amounted to a private screening - maybe two other couples in the house.
The story reminds you a bit of - All The President's Men - when the Washington Post exposed the Nixon coverup of Watergate. This time it is even a little closer to home - because most of the subject matter had to deal with school kids. The Boston Globe has an investigative group of reporters called the Spotlight. They are given the pleasure of sticking to one story - avoiding political influence if they can. In today's modern newsroom - the happens less and less due to declining advertising and circulation money. Reduction in staff has made this kind of reporting almost extinct.
Michael Keaton has received the New York Critics award for best actor playing the leader of Spotlight.
Back in 1975 to 1977 - Lulu and I owned a weekly newspaper in Tamaqua called The Tamaqua Paper. We knew absolutely nothing about what we were doing - but in our minds - we were investigative reporters that would not back down from anyone.
Our biggest story was catching the Tamaqua School Board - holding secret board meetings to make all the decisions - then they would be in public and stick to a predetermined script. It is against the law for a public governing body to meet and take votes in private. They were eventually taken in front of the magistrate - he found them guilty and fined them $1. They appealed the case to the Schuylkill Country Court and the charges were dropped - but the full board stopped meeting in private - and only make votes at public meetings today.
Spotlight is riveting. There is very little gratuitous sex or dirty language. It is hard to leave a theatre feeling good after a movie about pedophiles. But it is uplifting to see the newspaper making the church pay for the transgressions and coverup.
After the movie - it makes one feel that the Jerry Sandusky case will not be over at Penn State until someone does a movie about it. I hope that movie show the irony of how all the wrong people were punished for the acts of that sick man.
I give this movie 5 stars out of 5.
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