Stylish but thin on plot

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2006)

An above average cinematic experience, "Good Night and Good Luck" is nevertheless more documentary than movie.
While the acting is flawless, the subject poignant and the camera-work clever (at times distractingly so), by far the best parts of the whole are the archived footage and reenacted Munroe broadcasts. In fact so much screen time is given over to these latter two that the rest of the film feels somewhat tacked together to allow history to speak for itself. In many ways this is fine - McCarthy was a fascinating character, whatever else may be said of him, and Munroe's eloquence was nonpareil. However, it makes for some very trite and two-dimensional supporting characters and almost zero tension and plot.
It's well known that this was an frightening time for anyone who wanted to speak out for the erosion of human rights and American freedoms, but this is barely explored within the insulated world of the movie. CBS is an institution entirely populated by brave, super-supportive people with buckets of integrity and honour. Which is all very nice, but within a film, doesn't provide much scope for dramatic tension. Most of the characters are underwritten, and only two exist to illustrate the dangers and consequences of speaking out - one in so mild a form as to be forgettable, while one harassed colleague tops himself after three scenes, an event so predictable I had bets going as to his method by his second appearance. And certainly Robert Downey Jr. is wasted on his insignificant role.
While much can be said for Clooney's debut as a director, his screen writing abilities are limited. As for his Oscar winning appearance? Let us just compare to Judi Dench's win for her 8 minute job in "Shakespeare in Love". All in all though, a worthy and thought provoking way to spend a couple of hours.