Spotlight

on my fourth time watching this, i still needed to pause and look up names of various lawyers and other characters as they got lost in the shuffle of events. normally, that'd be a sign of a sloppy narrative, but here it shows confidence in the web it weaves. getting a little lost is part of the point. it's not that it's hard to follow, it's just that it moves fast and purposeful about the information it throws at you. unlike something like the big short (also fantastic), spotlight doesn't have allowances to break the fourth wall and wink at the audience to freeze the action and explain the absurd details, you need to be locked in. it feels a little similar to zodiac in that way, and it's neat seeing mark ruffalo do role reversal from gatekeeper in that movie to eager investigator here. i fell in love with the visitor years ago, and had been rooting for tom mccarthy ever since. spotlight doesn't necessarily have a particular director imprint feeling to it the way other movies i mentioned do (zodiac, big short, and something like prisoners, etc all have distinct styles) but spotlight's best quality is, again, its confidence. and that goes a long way for me.