Spotlight & 9 Other Best Movies About Investigative Journalism, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes

At one time, investigative journalism was the pinnacle of the journalism industry, a style that dove deep into a single issue or topic and laid out the facts and information on important stories. From huge scandals, politics, to serial killers, investigative journalists researched some of the wildest and most important stories and issues of their time.

Sometimes taking months or even years to investigate, these journalists and their teams worked tirelessly to get to the truth and reveal it to the public, sometimes even getting in harm’s way to do so. Nowadays, investigative journalism has all but disappeared amongst the new media world, but movies like Spotlight show some of the most incredible journalistic investigations of all time, both real and fictional.

10 State Of Play (2009) 84%

Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck star in this fictional political thriller full of intrigue and deception. After the mysterious death of a congressman’s mistress, Cal, an investigative reporter, investigates the incident, quickly linking it to other crimes, leading him down a rabbit hole that goes way deeper than he ever expected.

Filled with political and corporate conspiracies, viewers never know where this movie is going to go next. With keen direction, solid acting, and a few surprising twists, State Of Play is a fun and exciting investigative reporting thriller

9 Mr. Jones (2019) 85%

Based on a true story, Mr. Jones reveals the life of Gareth Jones, a Welsh reporter who uncovers the truth about the Holodomor, a wretched famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in the early 1930s.

After gaining recognition for interviewing Adolf Hitler, Jones is sent to the Soviet Union to interview Joseph Stalin but decides to break from his plans and visit Ukraine. But when he arrives he witnesses the terrible devastation of the Ukrainian people, many of whom starved to death, and some even resorting to cannibalism.

8 The Post (2017) 88%

From famed director Steven Spielberg comes The Post, a political and journalistic thriller about the attempts to publish the Pentagon Papers in the early 1970s by The Washington Post. The Pentagon Papers themselves reveal decades-long deception by the U.S. government about their involvement in Vietnam, a touchy subject that the government did not want to release to the public.

With an ensemble cast including Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, The Post shows just how hard, and dangerous, it is to go head to head with the U.S. government, but also the great strength and perseverance it takes to reveal the truth to the American people.

7 The Paper (1994) 88%

A more laidback and personal look at the life of reporters, The Paper is a dramedy about a hectic newsroom, the people that work there, and their investigation into a heinous murder.

Taking place all within 24 hours, it’s not the usual investigative reporting style, but after finding a police cover-up in a murder, the reporters battle to get it to print amongst the havoc of the job and their own personal lives. Henry, the editor of the fictional New York Sun, finds himself obsessed with the case and makes it his mission to free the ones wrongfully accused, and bring the real killers to justice at all costs.

6 The Parallax View (1974) 89%

The Parallax View is a dramatic and heart-pounding thriller full of political intrigue and murder. Joe, a political reporter, gets wrapped up in a massive and deadly cover-up after the assassination of a presidential candidate. After Joe’s suspicions are raised, he begins to investigate the Parallax Corporation, believing they had something to do with the assassination. But after witnesses and colleagues are also murdered, Joe fears for his life as he gets closer and closer to uncovering the truth.

Directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring a young Warren Beatty, this investigative political thriller is a cat and mouse chase that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats the whole movie.

5 Zodiac (2007) 89%

Directed by the great David Fincher and featuring an all-star cast, Zodiac thrusts viewers into the dark and daunting search for the Zodiac Killer who ravaged northern California throughout the ’60s and ’70s.

Combining the stories of an excitable cartoonist, a drunk but brilliant crime reporter, and a hard-nosed detective, Zodiac creates an exciting and gloomy atmosphere as they all try to find the Zodiac killer. From decoding his letters and ciphers to going out in the field and investigating leads, Zodiac shows in great detail the valiant attempt by reporters and police to take down one of the most prominent serial killers of all time.

4 The Killing Fields (1984) 93%

This brutal and revealing portrait of life in Cambodia during its civil war is told through the eyes of an American journalist, Sydney, and his Cambodian interpreter Dith Pran, as they traverse the violent and unpredictable landscape of a war-torn country.

Sent over to investigate and report on the civil war, Sydney finds himself befriended by Pran as they investigate bombings in the area. Later, Sydney has returned to the U.S. to great acclaim but continues his investigation into the war, and the location of his friend, who was captured by the regime in Cambodia after Sydney left.

3 All The President’s Men (1976) 94%

After a break-in at the Watergate office building in 1972, home of the Democratic National Committee, reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward begin to unravel a strange and increasingly surprising mystery that leads to the very top of the United States government.

Based on the true Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon, All The President’s Men tells the story of the reporters who investigated and eventually revealed the incredible cover-up that forced Nixon to resign in 1974. With fantastic performances from Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, director Alan J. Pakula presents the intense and dangerous investigation into one of the most famous cover-ups in American history.

2 The Insider (1999) 96%

An intelligent and sharp corporate thriller, The Insider stars Russell Crowe as Jeffrey Wigand, a big-tobacco whistleblower who puts his life and career on the line to expose the truth about the industry. Following an interview on 60 Minutes, Wigand is hung out to dry as big tobacco companies and the television station itself tries to silence his testimony.

What follows is an intense investigation into the tobacco industry, its conglomerates, and the power of money in media. With a wonderful performance from Al Pacino and a career-defining one from Crowe, director Michael Mann reveals the wonderfully exciting true story of greed and immortality in big business.

1 Spotlight (2015) 97%

Winner of Best Picture at the 2016 Oscars, this engrossing film follows the investigation of members of the Boston Globe as they attempt to reveal a cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. With outstanding performances from the whole cast, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams, this true story comes to life in vivid detail and shows, in-depth, what reporters have to do to find proof of terrible crimes. This scandal rocked the world and showed how important this profession is to people who want and deserve the truth.

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