‘Spotlight’ Borrowed 1 Incredibly Specific Detail From the Real Journalists Investigating the Catholic Church
The 2015 film Spotlight made waves with viewers all around the world. The film, based on a true story, received widespread critical acclaim and introduced many to an investigative journalist team that dedicated their lives to exposing corruption within the Catholic Church.
While some of Spotlight was embellished or exaggerated for the sake of dramatic license, there’s one specific detail that is almost too outrageous to be true – one that involved a journalist’s shocking discovery of an abuser living just down the street from his very own house.
What is ‘Spotlight’ about?
Spotlight tells the story of The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States, according to IMDb, and its investigation into sex abuse crimes perpetrated by Roman Catholic priests living in the Boston area.
As the team digs deeper into the story, they discover that the corruption is more widespread than they could have ever realized – and that the implications for the larger religion are frightening.
Spotlight features a star-studded cast, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup. It received massive critical acclaim, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. While Spotlight featured an original story, it was based largely on the real-life reporting of the “Spotlight” team.
What specific detail in ‘Spotlight’ was taken directly from the real investigation?
One incident proves that truth is stranger than fiction – and this incident made it into the finished film. As noted by BuzzFeed, one of the most striking scenes in the movie is when “Spotlight” team member Matt Carroll, played by Brian d’Arcy James, realizes that a “rehab facility” located right down the street from his house is actually a facility being used by the Church to hide priests who have sexually abused children.
Carroll writes a note to his family, telling them to stay well away from that house, and puts it on the fridge. In real life, the exact same thing happened to Carroll during his investigation into the Church’s abuses, with one notable difference – the house was the abode of a single priest and not a “rehab facility.”
Carroll would later describe how he used a picture of the priest to hang on his fridge rather than a note, which filmmakers ultimately changed because they thought that a photo wouldn’t be “believable” enough. Additionally, in the film, when Carroll makes this realization, he utters, “oh, s***.” The real Carroll would later recount how he probably said the exact same thing when he put the pieces together.
What did ‘Spotlight’ change from real life for the movie?
The most notable difference between the movie Spotlight and the real-life investigation was in regard to the timeline. According to Screen Rant, certain events in the film were depicted to happen well before they did in real life.
An example of this is when journalist Sacha Pfeiffer, played by McAdams, interviews a former priest named Ronald H. Paquin and is shocked when he freely admits to having molested young boys during his tenure in the priesthood. In reality, the priest only revealed his transgressions after a series of interviews, which were done by several reporters.
Additionally, the film only documents the investigation during a one-year timespan, culminating in the publishing of one explosive story in 2002. In real life, the team published nearly 600 articles specifically about the sexual abuse scandal. Despite the tweaks, the film Spotlight remains an acclaimed cinematic experience that is both gripping and fascinating.
