calherewecome

Normally on Tuesday evenings, we have our family over for dinner. But yesterday, Mike and his family had another engagement. So we had an opening in our social schedule. So we decided to go to the movies again. We have been trying to catch up on our Oscar nominated films. So this time we decided to go see “Spotlight”

So it was still playing at one of the AMC theaters in Torrance. Cost was $9.60 each for seniors. We went to an early show (4:55) and not a big crowd. There was maybe about a dozen people in the theater. I don’t think the subject matter (Catholic Church and Pediophilia) was a big draw to the 20-somethings out there.

It got Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Tom McCarthy), Best Supporting actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Supporting actress (Rachel McAdams), Best Screenplay (McCarthy and Josh Singer) and Best Editing (Tom McArdle).

The film stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Stanley Tucci and Rachel McAdams. Directed by Tom McCarthy. The film tells the true story of the Spotlight investigative journalism team at the Boston Globe that uncovered systemic involvement of the Boston Archdiocese in hiding child molesters and moving the child molesting priests from parish to parish in hopes that they would not be discovered.

This was a really good film. There was no shooting, car chases or fights. It showed the hard work in uncovering the truth. One result of the articles that were published in 2002 was the resignation Cardinal Bernard Law who was the Archbishop of Boston. The Pope moved Law to a cushy job in Rome where he could live out his life in comfort. My feeling was Law should have been indicted and brought to trial for something or other. (Accessory to rape or assault maybe). He should be sitting in a jail cell in Cedar Junction Prison in Walpole rather than living the good life in Rome.

There were lots of great exterior shots of Boston and its neighborhoods. It felt like I was home again. There was even a shot of the T station on the Red Line. Now it’s called UMass station. When I was a lad, it was Columbia station (named after Columbia Rd). Brought back the memories of getting off the T (or MBTA as it was called back in the 60’s) and trudging in the dead of winter from the station to the school. Damn, it was cold.

In the film, the reporters are seen digging through archdiocese directories that listed the priests and what parishes they were assigned to. They found some priest were listed as being on sick leave. They then discovered a host of categories that they used when a priest wasn’t quite working every day as a priest. In that fashion they discovered almost 90 potential child molesters. Back in those days one had to look information the hard way. No Google.

Also mentioned was Boston College High School (BC High). BC High is a Jesuit high school that is right across from the Boston Globe building on Morrissey Blvd in Dorchester. Here’s a pointer to several articles in the Boston Globe about the scandal and the making of the movie.

So my two brothers and I all attended BC High but before the time that the incidents were said to have happened. Also, one of my nephews attended BC High and graduated circa 2008. So every time that the word BC High was mentioned in the film, my wife gives me an elbow to the midsection. My midsection was getting sore.

One of our friends from our senior bible study at Ocean View asked me if it was the child sex scandal that caused me to leave the Catholic church. I told him that not really. I was already fed up with the church long before the sex scandal went down.  It was just another nail in the coffin.

This was a great film. Go see it. We stopped to see the Colonel (KFC) for some fried chicken on the way home. We got a bucket of chicken, cole slaw and mac & cheese. Home by 7:30. We woke Mary up for a fine dinner. Paula had a beer and I had a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc.