A specialized group of investigative reporters are handed the story of a lifetime by their new boss.  What they find may be the undoing of everything their community (and much of the world) holds dear. Starring Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schrieber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci.

This film is absolutely brilliant.  Based on the true story of how the Boston Globe exposed the Catholic Church’s cover-up of epidemic  child molestation by its priests, this film focuses on the journalists involved in the investigation.  Assigned to the story by their new managing editor, Marty Baron, this group defies convention to uncover a decades-old scandal reaching all the way to the Vatican.  Although the nature of the scandal is both sordid and horrific, the way the film handles this sensitive subject is both as understated and carefully done as possible.

I was especially impressed with the painstaking, unrelenting process of putting a story like this together: the months of research and interviews, compiling of resources, risking of friendships, relationships, and reputations to get to the truth of the matter at all costs.  I can’t pinpoint just one exceptional performance because they were all truly remarkable in their portrayal of these real characters.  I also loved the way this film represented those staunch supporters of the Catholic faith by respecting the shock and grief they experienced as this story unfolded (ie: Sacha Pfeiffer’s grandmother).

It’s hard to imagine that anyone missed out on the wave of related scandals throughout our country and the rest of the world (I’m sure a similar scandal was uncovered in a city near you), but even if you are familiar with what happened, this film provides great insight into all sides of the story from its initial breaking source.  I highly commend and recommend this film as worth a watch.