Handling a disturbing true story, and its far-reaching implications, with admirable tact and precision, Spotlight is the year's best film.

The top-tier ensemble, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams, all in Oscar-worthy form as Boston Globe reporters, is also buoyed by standout work from Stanley Tucci and Liev Schreiber. Writer-director Tom McCarthy, applying visual subtlety to his finely-tuned original script, recounts the investigative unit's 2003 unearthing of institutionalized sexual abuse by the Catholic Church and local Boston authorities.

A particular scene as Ruffalo's reporter confronts the despicable truth while watching a choir of kids in church is emotionally moving in its raw honesty. Also commendable are the editing and costume design, the latter of which captures the intentionally muted palette and patterns of Boston-area attire. With its deft but impactful hand, Spotlight revisits a subject still shrouded in the shadow of high-level corruption, with a prescient reminder that too little has changed.

Final Grade: A | 98/100 | ★★★★