Unexpected tension and greatness

Rating: 9/10 (18 February 2006)

I wasn't overly optimistic about this movie. Having set out on a 'see all the Oscar nominated 'best movies' before the Oscars weekend'(tricky in the UK as they often come out AFTER the awards) my wife and I picked up Crash (truly appalling and heavy handed scriptwriting)and Munich (good, not great, also with a touch of overt politicking) along with Good night, in the last 24 hours.
We saw Brokeback a few weeks ago and, it too, has a central politic; in this case, the freedom to ride bareback with your cowboy mates - it is far less political but disappointing in several ways.
Good night and good luck was my least anticipated of them all, (I have to say the trailers were, at best, dry) but it is, by a significant margin, the best movie of this bunch (time will tell if Capote is in my running as it's not out yet in the UK).
As the most overtly political movie of them all Good Night succeeds mainly by not banging the political drum which it has every right to. The performance of David Strathairn is utterly spellbinding (sorry Joaquim, but you've been beaten for best actor despite your wonderful Johnny Cash tribute).
George Clooney is an able sidekick (in a slightly George Clooney way) but his direction is phenomenally restrained, the art direction and cinematography utterly convincing, not least for the way the stock footage is woven in so effortlessly, and the script really tight.
Obviously McCarthy was ripe for a good doing over but he is almost treated with respect. For me the way Clooney resists the temptation marks him out as a much more sophisticated director (and scriptwriter) than most, especially the frankly embarrassing Haggis(Crash) and yet Haggis seems to be getting great reviews for portraying the race issue in LA with all the subtlety of The Simpsons.
Good Night is as tense as any thriller I've seen recently (and that includes the excellent 'Hidden'). The cast as good an ensemble as you'd like and the musical interludes outstanding too. It looks, sounds and feels like a world where standing up for something was worth doing.
If I were an Academy voter Good Night... would clean up.