Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Alex Gibney's documentary constructs a compelling and meticulously researched narrative arc, tracing clerical abuse from a specific Milwaukee deaf school all the way to the Vatican with damning clarity — the investigative storytelling is genuinely strong. Acting is replaced here by interview subjects and voiceover talent, which is serviceable and earnest but not exceptional. Cinematography is functional documentary work with some affecting archival material but nothing visually distinctive. Novelty is moderate — abuse-in-the-Church documentaries existed before, and while Gibney's systemic framing and Vatican reach add scope, the form is conventional. The ending, which confronts institutional impunity without resolution, is appropriately sobering but not particularly surprising given the subject.