Spotlight (2015)

This lives up to the good things we heard about the true tale of the Boston Globe's 2001 team finding proof of the Archdiocese's cover-up of child molestation. Tautly told and urgently performed, it has already won this year's Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award, which is given to a movie with a great ensemble cast.

The spotlight team at the Globe is portrayed by Mark Ruffalo (last blogged for Infinitely Polar Bear), Michael Keaton (won the Oscar last year for Birdman), Rachel McAdams (most recently in A Most Wanted Man), and Brian d'Arcy James (18 episodes of Smash (2012-13) and plenty of other work on stage and screens). Some of the other players are Liev Schreiber (last in Fading Gigolo), John Slattery (best known as Roger Sterling on 89 episodes of Mad Men (2007-15), as well as good work in The Station Agent (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Reservation Road (2007), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), The Adjustment Bureau, and cameos in Iron Man 2 and Ant-Man as Tony Stark's dad Howard), Jamey Sheridan (I had a crush on him in Shannon's Deal (1990-91), and he did good work in Chicago Hope (1995-96), The Ice Storm (1997), Cradle Will Rock (1999), Life as a House (2001), Syriana (2005), twelve episodes of Homeland (2011-12), and five of Smash), and Stanley Tucci (most recently in these pages for voicing Leonardo da Vinci in Mr. Peabody & Sherman). I racked my brain to guess who did the telephone voice of Dr. Sipe, not listed in the credits nor on imdb, to no avail. In this article, however, I found out it was Richard Jenkins (last in The Company You Keep).

Tom McCarthy last directed and wrote Win Win, and is joined by co-writer Josh Singer (his second co-written screenplay and a number of teleplays), and the story trots along briskly, even at two hours and seven minutes.

The pleasant music by Howard Shore (last composed Rosewater) can be streamed from this link. There were a lot of songs listed in the end credits, but only three are listed on imdb.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences alike are rhapsodic, averaging 97 and 96. See it now locally. And you won't miss Rule #19.

With the recent announcement of nominations for the Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards, I have resurrected my yearly alphabetical list of nominees and winners. I hope I can keep it up as award season picks up speed. I've posted a bunch so far.