Spotlight (15) directed by Tom McCarthy opens at Bridgnorth’s Majestic Cinema on Friday and will be showing daily at 8.30pm. Our resident film buff Charlie Pugh gives us his verdict. I, for one, can’t wait to see it.

After winning several BAFTA’s and Golden Globes, Tom McCarthy’s haunting biopic revolving around the titular division of The Boston Globe discoveries of disturbing secrets within the Catholic Church from 2000 to 2002 finally arrives at Bridgnorth. I have to say though, due to the disturbing source material, it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart.

The best acting comes from the group dynamic of the portrayals of the Spotlight crew itself with Mark Ruffalo, Rachel MacAdams and Micheal Keaton coming out on top as believable versions of Micheal Rezendes, Robbie Robinson and Sasha Pfeiffer. The latter has an interesting sub-plot as her discoveries clash with her mother’s religious views. Others such as John Slattery, Liev Schreiber and Stanley Tucci are good, yet a bit underdeveloped with the exception of Brain D’arcy James who also gets his own subplot regarding the safety of his family.

Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore should also be given a fair mention as he successfully gives a haunting score which reflects the disturbing nature of the church’s secrets.

Overall, as the Oscars loom ahead this weekend, Spotlight should serve as dark yet important viewing for it’s uncompromising narrative and great performances although in my opinion Mark Ruffalo deserved the Best Actor nomination rather than Supporting Actor.