An important allegory for modern times

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2005)

Expertly directed, superbly crafted and well acted, "Good Night, and Good Luck" is as much an allegory about what's going on today regarding civil liberties as it is about journalist Edward R. Murrow's fight against Sen. Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunt in the 1950s.
George Clooney and Grant Heslov have crafted an engrossing story that - in this day and age - dares us to recognize the importance of questioning our leaders; that doing that is not only ethical, moral and responsible, but also patriotic.
The film masterfully transports us to a time and place when HUAC frightened Americans and politicians and the courts were too fearful to take on McCarthyism. (Funny, isn't it, that a simple query from Joseph Welch - "Have you no sense of decency?" - finally exposed McCarthy for who he was.) Journalists and producers of the caliber of Murrow and Fred Friendly are rare these days, if not extinct. Today, we have an administration (aided by a bullying "news" channel) that questions the patriotism of anyone who criticizes its decisions or policies and vulgarly suggests its critics give succor to the enemy. After all, just see what our leaders named the anti-terrorism law after 9/11. Who would dare vote against something called the Patriot Act? We have leaders who consider the Geneva Conventions antiquated, have no qualms about torturing prisoners or shredding the Bill of Rights.
And, instead of Murrow-like dogged journalists, we are inundated with sycophantic, gutless reporters cowed by our leaders, simply buying into any malarkey fed to them by elected officials and bureaucrats. I'm sorry, but the New York Times' and Washington Post's apologies that they did a lousy job in the lead up to the Iraq War doesn't absolve them of their shame. Imagine what the last two years might have been like had our journalists done their job and questioned claims of WMD, being welcomed as liberators and other crucial issues.
Clooney's film is studded with brilliant performances, starting with David Strathairn as Murrow. Just as Chris Cooper was finally recognized by Oscar - for "Adaptation" (2002) - perhaps the always wonderful Strathairn also will be honored soon.
Also, look for a wonderful turn by Ray Wise as Don Hollenbeck. With all the accolades going to Clooney and Strathairn, it's easy to forget Wise's beautiful, understated performance.
Filming this in black and white was a bold move; color would have spoiled it. Also, it was a very wise decision to use real footage of McCarthy, as opposed to having someone play him. What Clooney and Heslov do effectively is make us realize through a 1950s event what exactly is happening today. It's akin to Andrzej Wajda using the 1793 drama, "Danton" (1983) to expose Polish politics in the Soviet era.
It's easy for leaders to simply justify their questionable behavior and policies by hiding behind the excuse that they can do anything because we're at war. They prey on our (rather obscene) obsession with patriotism to further their fear-mongering.
This film shows that occasionally a few strong, principled, brave, patriotic people stand up to say no against all odds. And they're right. If only we had similar examples in our media to point to today.