Great night and good luck

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2006)

How apt that after his wonderful debut "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind" proved an unjustly non-performer at the box office, that George Clooney comes up trumps with this fantastic monochrome, political thriller. It's a terrific piece of work, and makes me yearn for even more of Gorgeous George's direction.
Edward R. Murrow is credited with triggering the downfall of the vehemently anti-communist former US senator Joseph McCarthy. This being a period piece it has awoken many historians to debate this fact. Regardless of the solid truth, he certainly got under McCarthy's skin, forcing him to go on television and justify his actions. It's debatable whether Murrow was the archetype behind opposing senator McCarthy's communist witch-hunts, but to be perfectly honest this movie was working so well it really wasn't on my mind. McCarthyism is obviously a big part of "Good Night, And Good Luck", in the same way that race is a big part of Paul Haggis' "Crash". More importantly though, the central theme for me is to do with journalism, something Clooney learnt from his newsreader father. It has obviously rubbed off on him - the sets and atmosphere in "Good Night, And Good Luck" really do encapsulate the grubby claustrophobia and retro 50s nostalgia of old newsrooms and bulletins. Murrow's producer Fred Friendly had terrible difficulty with both the government and his own boss William Paley.
Back in a time when news was thought to be thoroughly unbiased and factual, the film is bookended by Murrow delivering a rather opprobrious speech at a banquet about how television broadcasting is going to hell on account of censorship and bias. Murrow, Friendly et al certainly opposed McCarthy's methods, but defended their stance by delivering what they believed were facts, rather than "rumour, hearsay and innuendo". It's a pertinent thought, and one that seems lost in today's increasingly biased media. Or as Murrow so integrally put it "power's cheerleader". He said this in 1958. Ironic perhaps, that it is so relevant to the current administration.
The cast are all great. Robert Downey Jr. reins it in for his performance as Joe Wersheba, a man secretly married to another CBS employee, disallowed at the time. His relationship with Shirley (Patricia Clarkson) provides the film with a illustrative sub-plot of how McCarthyism works. George Clooney as Fred Friendly is the yin to Ed Murrow's yang. He kicks where Murrow stares and bites when Murrow chews. The undeniable star however is David Strathairn. He is marvellously subtle, saying more with glances and cigarettes than he does with words. He 'll probably get ousted in the Oscars race by the flashier performances, but I'd love to see him coveted for his work. I haven't seen him in much. He said he'd been waiting 25 years for this call. I look forward to seeing him in the future.
The decision to use newsreel footage of McCarthy instead of an actor was, on paper, a potential recipe for disaster. Not only does it work, it provides the film with some of it's most powerful scenes. People can see this man for what he was, rather than how someone would have him.It also gives the movie an almost documentary feel. One scene in particular is comprised only of showing the trial of Annie Lee Moss. Scenes involving the news team debating were reminiscent of Robert Altman films, where actors would improvise and overlap one another. Technically the film is magnificent. The monochrome colouring gives the film an aura of acute dignity. A smart decision by Clooney, he's taken some obvious risks with "Good Night, And Good Luck" and in my opinion have paid off wonderfully. It does, on occasion, look like everyone's smoking too much. But they did anyway. As far as the Oscars go, I'm now tied with this and Brokeback Mountain, which is obviously the weightier of the two films. But this is a real gem. Even if you know nothing about politics or journalism. George? Job's a good'n.