I’ve never seen a grown man sob, let alone my father, until tonight. As we drove home from “Spotlight,” he broke down, repeating, “the kids. The kids. The kids.” For my part, I sat beside him with quiet tears streaming down my face. Neither of us spoke, and that was because we both seemed to have forgotten how to form coherent sentences.

When the movie ended, the theater was silent. No one got up. No one moved. Everyone sat there, staring at the black screen for at least a full minute until they silently began to file out of the darkened room.

I don’t know if I have ever seen a group of people so genuinely affected by a film, let alone have I ever been affected in such a profound way.

Directed by Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight” follows a group of four reporters from the Boston Globe. They are the Spotlight team who spend years investigating single issues and their new editor, Mary Baron (Liev Schrieber) assigns them to report on the Catholic church’s scandal regarding the molestation of thousands of young children.

Let me start out by saying this: this movie in no way shoves the atrocities of sexual abuse in your face. Personally, I expected to break down over tearful confessions of victim’s accounts of being molested and raped. Instead, I was met with understated acting and beautiful shots that subtly reminded me of the innocence-shattering catastrophe of the scandal at hand.

Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton) leads the team. Beneath him are Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams) and Matt Carroll (Brain d’Arcy James). The chemistry between this group of people was remarkable, and their minimalistic acting in effect created more drama. There were no scenes depicting them screaming for justice, rather the team worked together and their tenacity almost heightened the effect of the story at hand.

However, some members did occasionally let emotions fly given the magnitude of the subject, but the precise placement and choice of words continued with McCarthy’s understated tone. These emotions were still controlled, and only added to the depravity of the subject.

As for acting, I knew Mark Ruffalo was skilled, but now I know he deserves the rank of esteem I only before have given to a few select actors, like Daniel Day Lewis. In the beginning, he is introduced as almost a smarmy, young reporter whose passion is tangible. He is nosy and you can practically see him jumping to begin a story. Throughout the film, though, you see him evolve and begin to emotionally attach to the subject. This evolution is simply portrayed by Ruffalo’s genius.

All in all, this film is not gruesome, rather it is a hard-hitting investigation that reminds me why I love journalism. From what I can tell, it seems to be a pretty realistic representation of how the journalistic process works (ie. lots of doors being slammed in faces) and does not go over-the-top Hollywood with any cliche, justice-serving scenes. It is definitely a heavy topic that will probably make even the toughest person tear up, but it is worth it for the sheer phenomenon. This movie will definitely be on critics’ radar come Oscar season.

As I stated before and I will now reiterate: I have never been so profoundly affected by a movie and I recommend everyone go see it.