96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Chloe's thoughts: A must-see
Watch it if you: Want to watch a fantastic, yet heartbreaking, film about a true and truly shocking story about the Catholic Church
In 2001, an investigative team of journalists look into a previously-published case regarding a priest molesting over 80 boys. As they dig up more information on the case, they discover that this molestation of children by priests is not an anomaly, but an actual phenomenon that occurs in 6% of priests, or in another words, 90 priests just in Boston alone.
So I watched this film right before I watched Room and I was actually more keen for Room, yet this film just blew me away and really set the bar high. The way this film is done is so amazing at keeping you bewildered, on edge, and extremely appalled.
The whole film was pretty much two hours of me borderline crying.
It's not like I am or ever was a Catholic, it's not like I didn't know this was quite common, and it's not the first ever film I saw on these child molestation cases (cf. Doubt (2008)), but it just got to me so much.
The whole film was done so well to create this sense of being unsettled, especially as it starts off sort of small, then progresses to something a bit bigger, and then continues to progress to something huge. It even goes to a global scale for goodness sake!
And I guess the main reason why it affected me so much was because this is a true story. These rape cases actually happened. These priests actually went away with zero consequences after RAPING children. These victims actually went on to suicide, turn to drugs/alcohol, develop mental illnesses and create weird rationales for their own sexuality.
And you know what? These cases are still happening today. That is SO messed up and the thought of that just makes me want to cry.
Several times throughout the film, I teared up quite a bit, and a major reason for that was the tremendous acting by the superb cast. We have Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo and Brian d'Arcy James in the Spotlight team that investigates the issue, and all of them do an amazing job at portraying this vulnerable and confused team.
Mark Ruffalo though had the BEST performance of the movie. He was simply amazing. Everything about him, his voice, his accent, his hunchback, his awkwardness, his facial expressions, everything was so different to the Mark Ruffalo we know. There is one scene in particular where he delivers this hugely emotional monologue, and man oh man that tugged at my heartstrings so much.
The film was also directed really well. There was always something happening in the film, some new plot element, there was even some misdirection at one stage, and you feel like you are one of those reporters, at first not knowing too much, then later starting to know a bit more, starting to trust others a bit less, starting to lose faith in the system, and starting to realise how lucky you were to not be one of those kids that were randomly chosen by priests to be molested.
So overall, this film is a must see. It's emotional, it's heartbreaking, but worst of all, it's a true story, and the least we can do is to not be ignorant of what is happening with Catholic priests all around the world.
96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Chloe's thoughts: Signed, sealed and recommended by Chloe
Watch it if you: Want to watch a good film that looks into the themes of rape and the struggles of a rape victim and child abuse victim adapting to the real world
This is definitely not an easier film to watch than Spotlight. Even before watching Spotlight, I turned to Michael and said I didn't think I was ready for these two heavy, dark and depressing films about rape victims.
Room is set in a, well, a room. This room and all of its contents are the only thing that 5 year old Jack knows, since his mother was kidnapped, raped, and then confined in this room. Growing up in this sort of environment though, Jack's mum, Ma, has to normalise everything about Room so that her son is saved from the horrific truths of his existence. However, as Jack gets older, Ma needs to tell Jack the truth in order for her to have any hope in trying to escape Room.
While this film is fictional, it doesn't make it any easier to watch, because you know that this sort of stuff is actually real. Remember when a few years ago in the USA, Ariel Castro was found out to have kidnapped 3 women, one of them with a 6 year old child, and kept all them in his basement? Or that Josef Fritzl guy in Austria who raped his daughter, and kept her and their children in his basement for 24 years? This sort of stuff happens all over the world, and you never really think about what it would feel like to be in that situation.
Brie Larson was amazing in this. She needs to win the Oscar, because she portrayed her emotions so well. It was fascinating being able to see the two sides of her character in one facial expression. You have on one side the desperate and depressed rape victim confined in a small room with limited food, clothing, and zero contact with the outside world. Then on the other side you have the loving mother making everything in her son's life happy and normal. Brie Larson did a phenomenal job in expressing both of these without needing to overact or overdramatise everything. It was subtle, and it was real.
I have a bit more hesitation when commenting on Jacob Tremblay's performance. On one hand he did a great job, but on the other hand, gosh I hate kids. Kids are annoying. Kids are selfish. Kids are stubborn. Jacob Tremblay's Jack was all of these, and it was so frustrating to watch! I know this was the point, because they got you to feel how Ma was feeling, but they also made you praise Ma for being able to still be understanding and loveable.
The music in this was pretty great. I don't really recall Spotlight's soundtrack, but the soundtrack in this film was really emotional, and helped the film a lot.
The film wasn't slow or anything, and it's not like it was bad... it just wasn't as great as Spotlight, which I only just watched an hour before. I can't really put my finger on what I didn't like about this film. It was slightly drawn out, but I don't think that was the main issue. It might have been that it was just so frustrating to see how the characters reacted, even though it was completely normal and understandable that the two main characters would not be in the right state of mind.
In the end though, this film was a good film and worth the watch, but I don't think it needs to be watched in the cinemas. And you have to be mentally ready for this film too, because it will get you on the edge of your seat, and you will feel fear, dread, hatred, and all kinds of negative emotions.
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