6) Spotlight
Serving up a meaty steak of a drama as compensation for the overcooked Cobbler, Tom McCarthy’s clear-headed account of the 2002 Catholic Church sex scandal exposé satisfies like few films do. Spotlight is a throwback in some ways, an intelligently scripted, measuredly performed story of moral-guided professionals fighting against sinister forces of corruption and exploitation.
The hidebound properness of McCarthy’s production has led some to doubt Spotlight’s artistic merit, which ignores the incredible creativity it takes to turn voluminous data and ostensibly mundane work into propulsive, engaging drama.
Sometimes it’s just a small look, a lingering shot, or a sign on the wall, but Spotlight’s commitment to journalistic detachment is not without sentiment or poetry. It’s there, in the silence between the lines.