"If it takes a town to raise a child, it takes a town to destroy one too. "
- "Focus"
This is a sentence in "Focus". The above sentence was chosen because it seems to describe the process of finding the truth that the story is going to show us on the screen for two hours, but also to debunk how a system buries the truth: maybe every Individuals are caught in it, and they are to blame. And the buried truth is so deadly, even so universal. We don't need to be devout Catholics (I am, I dare not call myself devout) to understand that a system can be so powerful and thwart our right to the truth. This sentence is not brought out because it is subtle, the most subtle should be the sentence "Good German" when Robby answered the question "Why does no one come forward?", and then the deputy editor replied with a serious face, "Publishing I don't think you'd want to use that phrase when you're not" (because this comment touches on sensitive racial issues). Of course, as journalists we must be politically correct in our words! So Boston, as an old-fashioned Catholic city, should journalists always maintain political correctness in the selection of materials?
"Spotlight" not only won the best picture at the 88th Oscar, but also won the best original screenplay. The story mainly tells the story of a team called "Spotlight (Focus)" of the Boston Globe. Under the enormous pressure of the church, the church, the judicial system, and other related institutions jointly cover up the priest who molested the boy. finally made public. The most interesting thing about this story in my opinion is not just that the Catholic clergy molesting children is explosive (it seems that such news is not explosive, sadly.) The quality of the news is that as a screenplay, in how the facts are presented to the audience bit by bit. In a play, the handling of facts is crucial. Facts need to be presented to the audience, not bluntly "explained" to the audience. Sometimes, like in some detective novels, neither the audience nor the characters in the play know who the murderer is, the facts are pieced together and filtered, and the content of the story leads the audience to solve the case together. At this time, the characters in the play know as much as the audience. This is done to create an atmosphere of suspense; at other times, the characters know more than the audience; at other times, the audience knows more than the characters, as in a misunderstood romantic comedy. In Spotlight, we know as much as some of the protagonists and explore the truth together with their actions; while others in the show seem to be familiar with the truth for a long time, but their job is not to put The truth is revealed to us, but desperately to cover it up. In the process of trying to hide the truth, journalists who originally suspected the existence of the truth actually recognized the truth.
In Boston in the late 1990s, the opening scene was set up in the Boston Globe office, where everyone was saying goodbye to an old colleague. This scene introduced the beginning of the whole story, that is, an out-of-towner from Miami would come to Boston and become a New editor (Marty Baron). An outside editor not only represents an external force, but also an idea that can challenge the existing pattern. It has this double meaning here. At the same time, this was not only the time when the entire traditional newspaper industry was hit, but also when the Boston Globe was acquired by The Times. "Focus" is in a separate office, Walter Robbions ("Birdman"), referred to as Robby, is the editor, and there are three reporters, namely "Hulk" Mike, Sasha (McAdams), and a slightly older Wife's editor Matt. The arrival of the new editor-in-chief has made everyone concerned about the issue of layoffs, where the editor-in-chief is from, and whether the editor-in-chief watches baseball (it must be an unbelievable thing among Bostonians) is higher than at work. The problem.
In the first morning meeting with the new editor-in-chief, Marty Baron, the editor-in-chief asked why clergy molesting boys didn't get the attention they deserved, and asked the court to make documents related to the case public. From then on, the truth will be revealed little by little. As the story moves forward at each stage as it tries to complete its mission, we get a little closer to the truth. The plot progresses in layers, and at each stage, many events happen at the same time and then cross each other.
Step 1 Number of potential cases: 1
Goal: Get documents that will prove the bishop knows the truth
against the force: the Church, and don't let it leak out and prevent the pioneers from taking the lead.
So Robby was ordered back to the office to explain the situation to the three reporters. The assignment went on and Mike went to meet with a lawyer. The lawyer is said to have documents in his hands to prove that the bishop and the diocese were well aware of the molestation case. Sasha and Robby go to meet a TV-loving celebrity lawyer named Eric Macleish. During this segment, Robby and the entire squad clearly think they're dealing with a single case. In this case, there is one victim, who can complete this press release as long as they know the truth about whether Cardinal Lowe knew what was going on in the diocese.
Baron just wanted to open a protective order for the case, but the newspaper's publicist was quick to warn of the seriousness of the matter. During the investigation, Mike requested a face-to-face conversation with one of Garabidian's victims; when Sasha and others took out the previous newspaper clippings, they found the case that the Globe had reported, but there was no follow-up report. Robby saw another lawyer named Jim Salvein in the report, who was his friend. Sasha found in the clippings a man named Phi Saviano who was affiliated with Victim's Block. Deputy editor Ben and another reporter said he had interviewed him and he could not be trusted. And said Garabidian had no proof, he was just bluffing. Ben believes that if they don't have solid and credible evidence, they don't need to follow up.
Number of potential cases for step 2: 13
Goal: Get the sealed document; secrecy from the pioneers
Phi Saviano shows up in the editing room with a big box. Inside the big box is all his evidence. He got emotional and said he had mailed all the evidence to the Boston Globe long ago. Nobody cares.
Phi Saviano said a number that several comrades journalists could not believe. There may be more than one cleric who committed the crime, but 13. But if that number is true, then they'll drop the coverage of that single case first, the one the Globe is asking the court to open. Robby asked everyone to dig deeper into the truth of the incident.
Number of potential cases for step 3: 87
Goal: Go to the sky and write the story.
At the same time, Sasha and Mike both met with the victims separately for interviews. They are adults who have been traumatized.
In the pile of evidence that Phi Saviano brought, it moved on to the next important figure. This character is special, and we only hear his voice from beginning to end. He used to work in a treatment center and was a former priest named Richard Sipe, who specialized in child molestation by divine helpers. The church banned him and his research. Reporters had several conversations with him. He ended up with a terrifying figure, 6% of the total number of priests in the district, which was his estimate.
That's when Matt discovered the roster. There were rancid dead rats in the corners of the basement, and the lights were extremely dim. For priests who are exposed to the public, the diocese will transfer them away, and then write "sick leave" on the back.
Four people in the focus group, including the editor-in-chief, began to check how many priests had "sick leave", "to be assigned" and so on. In the end, 87 priests were found to be suspected of this.
Justice-filled lawyer Garabidian wants to file a new motion in court over a priest's testimony, which could reopen documents that had been sealed by the court. But at this time, the unfortunate events of 9/11 happened. It is true that the country is in trouble. At this time, people in Christian countries do not want to see news about priests molesting boys in mainstream media. In the face of pressure from the environment, victims, editorial boards, and church groups, journalists finally wrote drafts of articles aimed at the entire corrupt system during the Christmas period. The background music is the children's sweet and moving chorus, "Silent Night".
Final Chapter Number of Cases: About 600
This article finally made the front page headlines. On Sunday mornings, the newsroom was full of calls, all with potential victims. Robby stood in his editor-in-chief, picking up the phone. The screen goes black. The subtitles tell us that throughout 2002, "focus" groups reported nearly 600 cases before and after.
"Ignore is Harm"
What is even more frightening is that in the process of seeking the truth step by step. Robby and his squad found out. It turns out that the facts and evidence have long been in front of us. The newspapers have reported several cases, but they have not followed up. After defending twenty scumbags, the star lawyer once gave the Boston Globe the list. The truth is always in front of you. Invisibly, they also became part of the cover-up of the truth.
Robby ran to lawyer Jim's house on Christmas Day with a list of 87 priests in hand and asked for a confirmation from Jim. Jim refused angrily at first, telling him to get out. Jim said, I'm just doing my job. Robby replied, yes, that's why. Jim later chased after him angrily, saying that he was uncomfortable with the festival. And ask him, have you done your essential work? Then two big circles were drawn on the two-page list, and none of the 87 people were innocent.
Another great thing about the script is that the facts are shown to advance the plot. Such as the head of the Victims' Association, who appeared to highlight the evidence that had been mailed to the Globe's editorial board a few years ago, and more importantly to bring out the important figures in the next phase, the former priest surnamed Sipe, and experts on this subject. The homosexual victims interviewed by Sasha are not only to show the suffering of the victims, but also to connect the star lawyer Macleish with the incident, so as to gradually discover part of the truth, that is, Macleish helps these priests and victims Settle out of court that is not known to the public. Because of the priest's special status as a clergyman, the church will make a small amount of compensation, and the lawyer can profit from it; Catholic charity dinners, except for the obvious meaning, of course, and later in Boston High School found a priest suspected of indecent assault. connect together. From the beginning to the end, the story did not deliberately exaggerate any of the victims' exaggerated self-destructive behaviors. When the victims appeared, they were all narrating, and to promote the development of the plot, rather than simply presenting them. Neither the playwright nor the director used this to gain sympathy or make a stunt, and truly maintained the objective and calm of journalists. There is one victim who only exists in Robby's dialogue, and the pen and ink have reached the point of being rather stingy. So to be fair and impartial, this story is about a desire for truth and an affirmation of journalists who can stand up to great pressure and go upstream. Not to humiliate the church or use sex scandals as a gimmick.
Speaking of the integrity of the film, the rhythm is smooth from start to finish, the group plays have Zhang Youzhi, and the priorities are accurate. Boston seems to have been the rainy day in this movie. Let's see how unhappy this beautiful city looks. The personal space of each main character is also presented more or less, Sasha and grandma, Mike in his bachelor apartment due to divorce, Matt in his kitchen and the vision of his wife and children. These are all important, the characters become believable, and their motivations may be the same as ours. As for editing, there is nothing fancy about shots and photography, everything is contained in the story. The truth is maybe only one street away from us. Like Boston High School and the Globe's editorial board, but we are too blind to see.
View more about Spotlight reviews
