A Fearful Dream

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2006)

The United States is a great place for the creation of dreams. It's citizens are privileged to seek fame or fortune or to alter those of others. Those fragile fortunes always stride hand in hand with the fear of losing them. In the 1950's when the country was riding the high road of prosperity, Americans were enjoying the benefits of the second world war. With little to fear, it was left to the government to create one. It was called the "Red scare" or Communism. Most Americans were too complacent to worry about it. Thus it was left to one man to not only terrorize us with that fear, but to cultivate it. That individual was Joseph MaCarthy who hitched his star to a threat not of his creation, but his decision to feed, nurture and manipulate it to destroy the lives, careers and dreams of many citizens. In this remarkable film, audiences are given the rare opportunity to witness the classic confrontation between the Junior senator from Wisconsin and the controversial, chain-smoking hero of CBS, one Edward R. Murrow (supurbly play by David Strathairn.) The film is in Black and white as were the issues of the day. Noted for it's caricatures of the CBS news staff, the film pointedly reveals the uncertainties, triumphs and tragedies of the times. A courageous attempt to remind modern audiences that our present dreams and fears are no less precarious. With the government adroitly using the fears of global terrorism, a man like Edward Murrow is not only welcomed, but long overdue. ****