The Catholic Church has been the subject of much scrutiny and controversy for several decades, with many accusations of sex abuse and child molestation being brought against this religious institution.

In 2001, The Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” section, designated for investigative pieces, began examining previously ignored information from past sources of misconduct with and rape of minors by priests in the Boston Catholic Church.

The Globe’s investigation soon became less of a headhunt for suspected rapists and more of an attempt to expose the Church’s sinful role in obfuscating evidence of these lurid crimes.

Despite the premise of the Catholic Church, which many consider to be a beacon of hope, officials seemingly ignored accusations of pedophilia.

These allegations are renewed in Tom McCarthy’s film, “Spotlight.” The atrocities are closely examined, taking look at the indigence of even the most trusted priests, executed with a strong ensemble and a deft directorial job.

As the team (Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Live Schrieber, John Slattery, and Brian d’Arcy James), led by the shrewd Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton), began to talk to victims, it became clearer to this unit of journalists that the Catholic Church itself had provided a safe haven of institutionalized abrogation of abuse for fear of abasement.

The movie is an incredibly gripping journalistic mystery dedicated to bringing about the ugly truth without overly venerating any of its protagonists.

Tom McCarthy triumphs in confronting the audience with the unpleasant details of what went on, and still goes on, in the Catholic Church, discomforting, enraging, and engaging audiences in a dramatized yet not too dramatic account of a corrupt institution guised as a “home for all.”

Channeling the most thrilling aspects of a mystery and combining it with the stark, up front realities of the retelling of true events, his work seems almost effortlessly devised to activate several of the audience’s emotions.

Each actor is successful in filling the shoes of the likeminded journalists on a mission for justice, and leaving the footprints of their work bare and visible.

Michael Keaton’s defiant performance as Robinson as well as Mark Ruffalo’s performance as the righteous Michael Rezendes were solemn reminders of the heroes we sit next to on the bus everyday, nuanced enough to remind us that they are just as human as we are, and we all have the same capabilities for good.

This engrossing account of a Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles is not solely a great piece of filmmaking and noteworthy performances, but a cinematic truth that needs to be seen as a brutal reminder of the egregious crimes that can be committed by the ones we lionize the most.