Brilliant movie that comes out at the right time

Rating: 9/10 (27 August 2006)

Good Night, and Good Luck, based on real-life events, is a docu-drama exploring the 5-6 year period of the CBS show See it Now. The hard-hitting semi-news show is headed by the passionate and driven host Edward Murrow. During the 50's, when the cold war paranoia was still gripping USA, Senator Joseph McCarthy fueled the public fear, uncertainty, doubt by going after many supposed communist sympathizers. In a time when opposition was equated with conspiracy, Joseph McCarthy easily handed out conspirator titles to anyone opposing him. Good Night and Good Luck shows the fight of Edward Murrow as he, through See it Now, went after Senator McCarthy and his hysterical witch-burning trials.
George Clooney, the man behind Good Night, and Good Luck, perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the 50's. The movie has a distinct charm, due not entirely to the settings. The mood, the music, the dialogs, the reactions, all seem very 50s. The precision with which everything in this film is crafted cannot be highlighted enough. The insults and accusations are trenchant, yet dignified. The carefully weighed words and the impact of each sentence shows how different those times were. I dread to imagine what would happen if CBS had aired The Daily Show even for a single day!
A special mention must go to the aptness of the film in this day and age. This film isn't just a dedication to the astounding challenges overcome by Edward Murrow and friends. It is very relevant to what is happening today in the USA. With terms such as War on Terror, Homeland Security, Threat Levels, and so on doing rounds, politicians seem to be feeding and milking the public frenzy. The film producers see the breakdown of the media and news networks much like Edward Murrow did in 1958. They are reminding us all that those days of paranoia and mass confusion are not behind us, that the media isn't always as "fair and balanced" as they proclaim. This is a call-out to all of us, to recognize the motivations behind the words, to know that there needn't always a compromise between national security and individual freedom, to remember that the constitution gives us the right of freedom even if it isn't the most popular thing at the moment. The movie shows the difficult waters trodden by the makers of See it Now and are reminding the current crop of political commentators to not forget that reporting the truth is their first duty.
A brilliant film by a brilliant mind, this gripping drama is a must-watch, not only for its timeless message, but for its sheer film-making greatness.