We live in a day and age where a lot of the time Hollywood prefers to tell or re-tell stories that don’t have much bearing on people’s lives once they leave the cinema.

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There’s a wealth of superhero movies, slapstick comedies and sequels but often not many compelling true stories told well.

Spotlight is a rare example of the latter. Directed by Tom McCarthy (Meet the Parents, Up) it recounts the story of The Boston Globe newspaper’s early-2000s investigation into a child abuse scandal and subsequent cover-up in the local Catholic Archdiocese.

The reporting by the paper’s small, hardworking ‘spotlight’ team led to further revelations of abuse in the Catholic Church around the world.

Spotlight displays complete reverence to the gravity and sensitivity of its subject matter.

A stunning exercise in restraint, it doesn’t over-dramatise any of the jarring scenes it features, nor is it stereotypical in its portrayal of the victims or the perpetrators.

A lot of attention is paid to authenticity – some of the dialogue is stilted or muttered as it would be in real life and the lifestyles of the journalists tirelessly reporting on the case aren’t glamourised.

On that note, the ensemble cast of this film is one of its main strengths. Not only are they a group of highly-talented, critically-lauded actors, they work together as a true ensemble, playing off one another effortlessly.

As opposed to other popular group efforts like The Avengers or American Hustle, the cast of Spotlight aren’t all vying to be the centre of attention. They’re happy being sideshows to the story.

The cast of ‘Spotlight’ from left: Michael Keaton, Live Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery and Brian d’Arcy James.

As a result, it’s hard to identify a single standout performance. Rachel McAdams is remarkably understated as Sacha Pfeiffer, a woman committed to sharing the stories of her victims (she’s scored an Academy Award nomination). Liev Schreiber is quietly mesmerising as the Globe‘s incredibly focused new editor, Marty Baron.

Oscar-Nominated Mark Ruffalo is hilarious and highly strung as star writer Mike Rezendes, Michael Keaton is, as always, brilliant and Stanley Tucci deserves far more recognition for his expert performance as eccentric lawyer Mitchell Garabedian.

Really, it’s difficult to fault Spotlight aside from its occasional moments of quiet and inaction, which further add to its overall authenticity.

Just as you get the sense the journalists portrayed in the film wanted to do justice to the stories of the victims, the film wants to do justice to the work of the journalists.

And despite its victorious conclusion (that’s no spoiler – the real story lies in the investigative process) it’s hard to shake an overwhelming feeling of sadness when you leave the cinema.

Some stories are begging to be told and Spotlight tells this one with aplomb.