Journalism has long been a popular subject for movies, having been the focus of such classics asAce in the Hole(1951),All the President’sMen(1976),Broadcast News(1987), and arguably the greatest film ever made,Citizen Kane(1941). But, as far as journalism films released in the 21st century go, no film has come close to toppingSpotlight(2015). Directed by Tom McCarthy,Spotlightcenters on a small group of reporters atThe Boston Globe, known as the “Spotlight” team, who investigate allegations of child molestation by Catholic priests and uncover a systemic cover-up by the Boston Catholic Church. The film was so well-received by critics that it won two Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
While it may be something of a cliché to say thata movie has only gotten more relevantin the years after its release,Spotlightis in the rare company of films that genuinely fit this description to a tee.Even as it turns a decade old, recent developments pertaining to both the Catholic Church and the state of American journalism have retroactively imbuedSpotlightwith such prescience that it borders on eerie. WhileSpotlight’s technical merits and accurate portrayal of investigative journalism alone make itworth watching in 2025, it’s the ways the world has changed (and not changed) in the decade following its release that make itessentialviewing.
‘Spotlight’ Realistically Depicts Investigative Journalism
Many Hollywood films and TV shows about investigative journalism — including ones about real-life news stories — make the occupation seem exhilarating and fast-paced. ButSpotlighttakes the opposite approach, focusing on the tedious and often frustrating work that went into the Spotlight team’s investigation into the Boston Catholic Church. Indeed, their investigative work consists primarily of combing through seemingly endless paper records — often well into the night — and seeking interviews by making phone calls and knocking on doors.
Most of their attempts to interview both church officials and victims are met with coldness, hostility, and defensiveness. Furthermore, the stories shared by the few people who are willing to speak with the team areso disturbing and heartbreakingthat they clearly take a severe mental and emotional toll on the reporters who have to keep hearing them.
Assuming the film’s intent is to pay tribute to and promote journalism, it may seem counterintuitive to depict it as so tedious, draining, and unrewarding. But, in fact, it’s preciselySpotlight’s framing of journalism that makes it so effective on this front. By showing how little material benefit is in store for the members of the Spotlight team in pursuing their story, the film shows the audience that, in its purest form, journalism is an unselfish public service.Without the willingness of the entire team to devote so much of their time and effort to an investigation that carried little reward and plenty of risk for their mental health and professional reputations, there would have been no other means of holding the Catholic Church accountable and providing justice for its victims.
This message is hammered home by the film’s ending, in which the Spotlight receives a cascade of calls from hundreds of newly empowered victims after the publication of their exposé in the Globe. Normally, being rewarded for several years of hard work with evenmorework would be an unpleasant outcome. But, for the Spotlight team (and journalists more broadly), it is gratifying to be swarmed with these calls because it shows that they have empowered so many people to come forward. In a way, their work is its own reward.
The Relevance of ‘Spotlight’ in 2025
The subject matter ofSpotlightreturned to the public consciousness earlier this year withthe passing of Pope Francisand the subsequent election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, as his successor. Although Pope Leo has vowed thatthe Church will not tolerate abuseunder his watch,his own mixed recordof dealing with child sexual abuse as a bishop in Peru has come under heavy scrutiny from activists and past victims.
Only time will tell whether the Pope follows through on his promises to reform the Church and protect all future generations of children. But, in any event, the Spotlight team’s investigation, as well as all the subsequent investigations that were launched as a result of it, has at least made the Church’s ability to cover up any further transgressions more difficult, if not impossible.
But the film’s importance to the present day resonates far beyond the Catholic Church. Perhaps its most important theme is the necessity for journalistic independence, as Baron bluntly states to Boston Archbishop Bernard Law after the latter’s suggestion that the Church and the Globe should “work together. " The principle of journalistic independence has increasingly come under attack, particularly by the administration of current US President Donald Trump. In fact, in a disturbing example oflife imitating art, Baron himself recently echoed his film counterpart while criticizing billionaire andWashington Postowner Jeff Bezos, who he argueshas undermined thePost’s journalistic integrityto appease Trump. (Baron was thePost’s editor from 2012 to 2021 after leaving theGlobe.)
As optimistic asSpotlightis about the power of journalism to make a difference and hold corrupt institutions accountable, it is not naive about the threat that said institutions pose. In this regard,Spotlightcannot have aged any better, and will probably continue to age well for the next several years.Spotlightcan be streamed for free onTubi.
