How the Oscars are shaping up

By Tom Shone

“If it takes a village to raise a child,” says an ill-tempered prosecuting lawyer played by Stanley Tucci, “it takes a village to abuse one.” This is the thesis of “Spotlight”, about the Pul­itzer-winning investigative team from the Boston Herald and its 2001 campaign to uncover widespread, systemic child abuse by the city’s Catholic priests. Co-written and directed by Tom McCarthy, who has previously directed comedies such as “The Station Agent” and “Win Win”, the film is as meticulous in pursuit of its story as the journalists at its centre. Michael Keaton (pictured, left) plays the careworn editor of the team, Robby Robinson; John Slattery plays the section chief, Ben Bradlee Jr; Rachel McAdams is one of the reporters, alongside Mark Ruffalo (pictured, right), who lives in a flat filled with empty takeaway cartons, and follows people in and out of rooms leaving a space of about ten centimetres between them.