Mark Ruffalo and reporter Michael Rezendes talk "Spotlight"
Oscar buzz is strong for "Spotlight," the movie that shares the true story of the Boston Globe investigative team uncovering the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal.
"I think the movie is incredibly authentic, and I think it captures the substance and spirit of what we did just incredibly well. So I'm very pleased with it," said reporter Michael Rezendes Wednesday on "CBS This Morning." Rezendes was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the coverage.
Mark Ruffalo, the two-time Academy Awards nominee who plays Rezendes in the film, said he felt it was the right time to tell the story again.
"It had a particular reach at the time when the Boston Globe told the story, but we could take it a little bit further into the culture by making a movie out of it," Ruffalo said. "And it just felt so honest, and it left out the salacious part of the story and went directly to the investigation. So you're allowed to enter this world and look at this very hard story in a dispassionate way, so by the end of it, you get a real, moral certitude about where you end up."
Ruffalo shadowed Rezendes, finding out that "a great reporter dedicates his life to his work."
The table had turned for Rezendes, who was now being observed.
"At first it was a bit disconcerting because Mark came right into my living room. I had never met him before. And without anything in the way of introduction, he sits down, he opens his notebook, he pulls out a pen, and he turns on his iPhone and starts asking me questions," Rezendes recalled. "And they were kind of personal questions, and I thought, 'Wow, this is pretty uncomfortable.' But then I thought about how many times I'd done that to other people, and I started to relax into it, and ultimately, we had a great conversation."
Rezendes said he liked the movie because it keeps public attention focused on the issue of clergy sex abuse.
"I think the Church has... taken several meaningful steps [to address the issues]. I think most victims, survivors will tell you that the Church has not done enough, that there's more to be done," he said.
In a powerful scene that depicts a priest's impact on Catholic families, abuse victim Phil Saviano says, "When you're a poor kid from a poor family and when a priest pays attention to you, it's a big deal. How do you say no to God?"
"Coming from a Catholic background, what you really have to remember is that a priest is literally the direct lineage from God to the community, and so nobody expects there to be a predator there," Ruffalo said. "Nobody expects there to be a direct act of evil. And that's probably one of the more horrific aspects of the story because you're destroying - and we talk about it in the movie - you're destroying someone's faith."
Rezendes, who described himself as a "lapsed Catholic" at the time of the investigation, said what he and his Boston Globe team found, without a doubt, changed how he felt about the Church.
"Just the wall of secrecy and the lies about these terrible things that had taken place - it did affect me, of course." Rezendes said.