Jumping off your theme of Brotherhood and the contrast between the two major institutions (church and press) in the story, I'd say *complicity* and *infallibility* were two big themes for me. So many people end up being complicit in keeping the abuse secret. The church, of course. But what the movie also shows wonderfully is how everyone from the top of Boston society (that scene with Peter Conley is gold) to the bottom, including the families of the victims themselves, participates in the cover-up. We want to hate Macleish for his role in cutting those secret deals. But Macleish is also us: in wanting to protect our great institutions, in not wanting to admit how deep--how widespread, how global--the cover-up went. As Garabedian says, "“If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to abuse one." I also say infallibility because ultimately it's what distinguishes the church and the press. In that final ironic twist it turns out the Globe too is complicit in the cover-up. As Macleish says, he gave a Globe reporter the story of twenty priests years ago and it was buried. In a powerful scene, Robby acknowledges he was metro editor at the time--the story was buried under his watch. It's a crushing scene to watch. All along the movie has trumpeted the boldness and dedication of the journalists and their investigation and now it turns out the leader of Spotlight had, at a much earlier point, feet of clay. But Robby's admission also delineates the two institutions. Ultimately, the press doesn't fall back on its infallibility. Robby in admitting his mistake stands up for transparency and being transparent about the weaknesses of even our best institutions. The church on the other hand, when queried, says through its press secretary that "it doesn't even want to know what the questions are." Even when backed into a corner, it chooses to maintain its infallibility. Oh, and also, I love that this is a movie about craft. And how much the craft of the journalists--their persistence, their failures!--parallels the craft of screenwriting. But that's another story. And p.s. I love that Saviano maintains his faith--and gets the last word. Thanks for discussing this movie, Scott. As you can tell, I really dug it.

Great analysis, screenstudent. You demonstrate you deserve your moniker: A student of the screen! That scene where it's revealed Robby knew about the crimes years ago... yes, powerful stuff. And well-played. Again, it could have gone over the top with regret. But that would have shifted the emotional focus away from the victims and as we have discussed, McCarthy made a conscious choice to take a 'reserved' stance toward the journalists and their inner lives so as not to detract from the crimes themselves and the victims. Thanks for your observations. Solid!

Great observations so far. Another couple of themes I feel was important in the film were the importance of courage and persistence. Obviously, it took courage for the paper to take on an institution as powerful as the Catholic Church. But individually, each of the major players at the paper needed to exhibit a degree of courage: Baron had to come into a new city and take on its most powerful force, "Robby" had to face people he considered friends and question their actions and inactions, Sacha had to face her "nana", who she knew would be crushed when the story finally came out. There are other examples as well. The reporters also had to be very persistent to accomplish what they did. One example is how many times Robby had to go back to his golfing buddy before eventually getting him to confirm aspects of the story. Another is how many times Rezendes had to go back to Garabedian before the lawyer allowed him to speak with his clients. Sacha had to knock on doors, Robby and Sacha had to repeatedly meet with Macleish (even cornering him in the lobby of his office building) to get more info. They were dogged in their pursuit of the facts and were able to shed light on horrible and well-hidden situation. Thanks for all the posts!

Astute observations by screenstudent.

Great points, Adam, as both courage and persistence are in play in the story, for sure. Could even add this: What about Phil Saviano, who in his dogged attempts to 'out' the Church's behavior re priest abuse is both courageous and persistent.

Indeed, Saviano was the epitome of both qualities. I also realize that Robby had to have the courage to face himself and his own complicity when he realized that he had been the editor of a department that had run a story on the subject years before. That moment when Sacha brings a clipping of the article into Robby's office was so well-written (not to mention well-acted! It was an important moment in the film but was very subtly presented and its true meaning wasn't revealed until later on.

Adam, that scene you mention where Sacha brings in the Robby-written article is perhaps the paradigmatic scene in the movie insofar as the tone of the movie. No histrionics. No melodrama. All subtext. She knows. He knows she knows. She knows he knows she knows. And all they do is use simple language to talk AROUND the elephant in the room, swap looks, and scene out. I can almost guarantee you, any big Movie Star would have brought in their own writers to 'punch up' that scene so they could play it up, go big, allow them to show their emotions. The way it's played in Spotlight is, as I say, completely in keeping with the reserved approach throughout. An absolutely brilliant moment.

Agreed. I'm so glad they played that scene as they did. I suppose a good Director will communicate the overall tone and tenor of a film to make sure all of the actors are on the same page.

Also Secrets & Lies, which seems very much related to faith, brotherhood and complicity. There's a very fine line in the film between maintaining secrets for the greater good (as the Spotlight team does, as Sacha and Matt do with their loved ones) and maintaining secrets to protect the status quo and stay out of trouble. After all, Cardinal Law would no doubt argue that he did what he did for the greater good. Two of the more effective scenes, IMO, are wink-wink moments, where one character tries to pressure another into some sort of silence. The first is when Marty goes to visit Cardinal Law, and the Cardinal tells him that he thinks it's best when a city's great institutions work together (and Marty says something like, he's found the exact opposite to be true for a paper.) The second is when Robby meets Pete Conley in that bar, and the whole thing dawns on him -- he says, this is how it happens, a guy leans on a guy leans on a guy, or something to that effect. It's the best and worst of community...which I guess is another theme. :)