What journalism used to be

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2007)

In 1954, television was still a new invention. Few Americans owned one, and those who did had only three or four channels to choose from. It was the time of the Red Scare, of Joe McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee, of Edward R. Murrow.
"Good Night, and Good Luck" is not your typical biopic or docudrama. It does not delve into Murrow's childhood or marriage. Murrow (David Strathairn) and his news producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) learn an obscure story of an Air Force Lieutenant who is discharged because his father might have been a Communist. With his commander ("24"'s Glenn Morshower) unwilling or unable to explain his dismissal (one of the contents of a top secret envelope), Murrow and his team take on the ring leader of the Pinko witch hunt, Sen. McCarthy. (And if you don't think it can happen now, visit a university campus or listen to talk radio, and take note of the venom spewed by so-called "experts" who think they have a monopoly on truth.)
Standing in the way is CBS news manager William Paley (Frank Langella), who has to balance his journalists' integrity and freedom with the desires of his sponsor Alcoa. Murrow convinces Paley to let him run his critique of the Senator, mostly by washing his (Paley's) hands of Murrow if it blows up. So on March 9, 1954, Murrow's show "See It Now" used McCarthy's own speeches to show inconsistencies between his words and actions.
A month later, McCarthy appeared on "See It Now," accusing Murrow of being affiliated with the Communist Party. Of course, he had no proof. "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty," Murrow says. Viewers responded overwhelmingly against McCarthy. After that, politicians of all stripes openly criticized McCarthy, and McCarthy's career spiraled downward.
Filled with jazz and cigarette smoke and filmed in black & white, "Good Night and Good Luck" brings the viewer back to 1954. Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Ray Wise round out the supporting cast with terrific credibility. At only 93 minutes, the movie--which has no sex, no violence, and only one blasphemous swear word--is anything but boring, letting the drama of the time dictate the action.
"Good Night and Good Luck" is less a movie about McCarthyism than it is about courage and journalistic integrity. All journalists, especially those who tripped over themselves to cover OJ Simpson's trial and Anna Nicole Smith's death, and columnists who close their minds to the opinions of others, need to see this movie so they could learn what journalism really is.