Good Night, and Good Luck

[Foxbat]

Directed by George Clooney
Starring George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr. Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, David Strathairn

2005
Black and White

Good Night, and Good Luck tells the story of how and why CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow (Strathairn) and his backroom staff took a stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy during the fifties. The fear of Communism was at its peak and McCarthy instigated his infamous quest to weed out the threat of infiltration from the Left.

Appalled at McCarthy’s scant regard either for the principle of ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ or for the rights of individuals in general, the team begins its fight for the principles of Democracy through the medium of Television.

Shot entirely in Black and White, this movie (I feel) manages to capture the atmosphere of that time. Putting Strathairn in the pivotal role of Murrow was a masterstroke of casting and this actor does not disappoint in the slightest. Another important usage was of newsreel footage from the time. Through this, we see the real McCarthy at hearings, browbeating witnesses and accused alike until he gets his way. We watch the smoke filled rooms where decisions are made and risks taken to counter McCarthy. The use of a fast panning camera here fuels the claustrophobic atmosphere where defending somebody else’s liberty might lead to the curtailing of one’s own freedom. The lack of incidental music is a good touch, which heightens the realism in this movie. The only music present is during visits to a bar, where soft jazz plays and adds to the sense of time period.

Fine performances all round really carry this film along in a manner not often seen. Clooney, it seems, sticks to the facts. This could have easily worked against the movie by manifesting itself in a lack of dramatic climax, but some good, solid directing really makes you feel that you are right there. It must have been pretty tempting to throw in a fictional romance, or some kind of character conflict just to move things along, but hats off to the writers and director for their integrity and preferring to tell it like it was.

I’ve not always been a fan of Clooney the Actor. Clooney the Director, however, might be a different proposition altogether. I think he may have a promising future behind the lens.

Great stuff that treats the viewer with a bit of intelligence for once.

[Marky Lazer]

I wanted to see this movie really bad, but it didn't show in the cinema in my town...

[j. d. worthington]

You know the little thread where we were talking about heroes? Well, Murrow definitely belongs on that rather privileged list...

[Foxbat]

You know the little thread where we were talking about heroes? Well, Murrow definitely belongs on that rather privileged list...

I agree. It took a lot of courage for him (and his staff) to stand against such a tide. The world needs more like him.

[carrie221]

I would definitly recommend this movie it was excellant. I can't wait to rent it again but everytime I have gone to the videostore it was been out.

I definitly think he was a hero, standing up at that time when it could mean the end of his career and life as he know it. This time period is very interesting, mostly because it is not covered in school (secondary or post-seconday) due to being too new.

[GOLLUM]

Saw it about a month ago on DVD, one of the best films I've seen in the last 10 years.

[littlemissattitude]

I'm glad to hear that this one is good. I've been wanting to see it. I'll definitely send it to the top of my "to-rent" list.