With the 2016 Oscars nomination now revealed, one particular movie stood out, even gaining enough reinforcing reviews to outshine big titles such as "Mad Max: Fury Road", "The Revenant" and "The Martian". It's none other than the star-studded drama "Spotlight", which tells the story of the Boston Globe and its fight to uncover the atrocities of Catholic priests who use children as sexual preys.
When it first debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, "Spotlight" became an immediate favorite by critics and was showered with positive reviews, Screen Crush noted. It was consequently dubbed as a frontrunner for Best Picture in this year's Academy Awards as early as September last year.
True enough "Spotlight" received a Best Picture nomination, together with five other nods including Best Supporting Actress for Rachel McAdams, Best Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo, Best Director for Tom McCarthy, Best Original Screenplay and Best Filming Editing.
This is Ruffalo's third Best Supporting Actor nomination, while it's McAdams first Best Supporting Actress nod.
Director Tom McCarthy, who also co-wrote the script with Josh Singer, said the award nominations aren't exactly his favorite part about helming "Spotlight".
"The favorite part was the research," he said. "Just digging into the material and spending all this time interviewing these really fascinating people, both the reporters and the survivors. If you like hard work, it's just the best."
Unlike many of its contenders, "Spotlight" does not boast a flashy excess of cinematic effects and it doesn't have any unexpected twists and turns. What it does have, however, is a very strong drama narrative that is well-sustained by a solid emotional punch.
Actor Mitchel Garabedian, who plays Attorney Stanley Tucci in "Spotlight", expressed his elation over the recognition the movie is receiving.
"It's a reflection of the hard work, grit, and determination that the writers, director, and actors put into making 'Spotlight,'" Garabedian said. He added that the movie sends "a very powerful and clear" message about massive cover-up of pedophilia within the Catholic Church, and how the story has "empowered victims and made the world a safer place."
"Spotlight" is based on a true story. The Boston Globe's strong pursuit of the case earned them the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
According to The Boston Globe, even the Boston archdiocese, which was made the focal point of the story, expressed his gladness over the Oscar nods "Spotlight" received.
Boston's archdiocese spokesman Terry Donilon said Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley found the film very "powerful and important."
Despite the critical acclaims from the film industry and viewers, McCarthy and Singer's ultimate hope is for the movie to be able to bring awareness to the societal issues it presents: the abuse within the Catholic Church and the fading material available for investigative journalism.
