* * * * ½ Joyce

* * * * * (Don)

(Globe uncovers church scandal)

Not since All the President’s Men have we had such an intense, hard-hitting look at how a newspaper investigative team handles a major news story. Like Black Mass, Spotlight takes place in Boston, spills over into Providence, and is still fresh enough in our minds to have a strong impact.

The movie is “based on actual facts,” including the abuse of a young Rhode Islander, and pulls no punches when it comes to Cardinal Law’s involvement in the massive cover-up of clergy abuse.

For over two hours we watch Boston Globe investigative reporters dig deep on their investigation of pedophile priests for their “Spotlight” series, taking their time to get it right.

Mark Ruffalo is terrific as Mike Rexendes, the investigative reporter who becomes intensely involved in his work. Michael Keaton plays editor and head of the team Walter “Robbie” Robinson, who is told to drop everything and follow up on rumors of abuse by his new editor, Marty Baron, relentlessly played by Liev Schreiber. There is a bit of irony in the fact that he is a single Jewish out-of-towner, unlike most of the Globe staff.

As the team carries out its investigation of a few cases, the number of abusive priests grows and the indications of cover-ups reaches the highest levels.

“The church thinks in centuries,” one of the investigators notes, as the reporters are stonewalled by the church hierarchy and “well meaning” church members.

There are so many elements that make this movie so good: great acting and directing; a tension-packed script; the shocking subject matter; and the behind-the-scenes examination of how a good investigative reporting team works.

The figures on number of abusive priest and numbers of victims, shown during the credits, are staggering and disturbing, as are some of the stories told by the victims…one of them from Rhode Island.

Rated R because of profanity and the subject matter. We would recommend it for mature teenagers.