A sedate, interesting look at an important juncture in recent history.

Rating: 9/10 (30 January 2006)

2005 has been a blockbuster year for George Clooney, who won heady praise for his actor/writer/director/producer role on "Good Night, and Good Luck," and for his performance as CIA Agent Bob Barnes in "Syriana." Clooney, son of a local journalist, seems to have great affection for this period, when television news was in its infancy. He's meticulous in depicting the way a 50s TV station was run, and it's engaging just to see the old equipment (film instead of tapes, for example). The entire place seems quite claustrophobic (the limited array of sets surely plays a part in this), and with untold toxic tobacco particles floating in the air (little wonder that Murrow died of lung cancer in early middle age).
The film is quite sedate, as I said earlier, with little score (beyond some jazz riffs that can get a bit repetitive), and tight camera-work that focuses solely on the actors, walking down grey halls and talking in offices and meeting rooms. The film's trailer really misrepresents the kind of film this is; it's a docu-drama, that does not "sex up" the day-to-day workings of a newsroom. Anyone not really interested in the subject matter is likely to be bored by the movie.
There is a bevy of quality actors in the film, ranging from Clooney himself (underplaying nicely), David Straitharn as the legendary Murrow, Frank Langella, Tate Donovan, Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson, and Robert Downey Jr. There's very little character in the film; Clooney is interested in the genesis of the plot, and the facts. It makes for refreshingly unsensationalized viewing, although it can seem a bit sterile.
It's interesting to note the differences between this and Clooney's other political film; GNaGD argued that good men, like Edward R. Murrow, could topple villains like McCarthy if they stuck to their principles; "Syriana"'s ultimate message is that we're probably screwed, regardless of what we try to do, because the problems of the world are beyond anyone's ability to solve. This film's message is, obviously, the one most people would prefer.