a terrific combination of a directorial style matched with intelligent subject matter

Rating: 10/10 (21 October 2005)

Good Night, and Good Luck, is one of the better (if not one of the best) films I've seen this year, and it's definitely the most thought-provoking and successful one to look at the news business since 1999's the Insider (coincidentally, including CBS). It works chiefly because co-writer/director/co-star George Clooney is even more confident with his style here than with (the under-rated) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and that it doesn't sell short its audience the slightest. This is an important point; another director might have done things a lot differently with this film to make it more "accessible" or "mainstream", such as over-using a score, or doing the typical 'everyone watches the TV's all across the country' shots, or having an actor portray Joseph McCarthy and other historical figures shown as themselves here. Clooney makes some brave choices, and they all pay off at the expense of an intelligent, truthful script, and some interesting performances.
Chiefly in these performances is David Strathain, an actor I'm not too familiar with, but after seeing this I definitely want to see more of his work. His turn as Edward R. Murrow, the legend of a newsman of the 20th century, is quite remarkable because it's all done for effect. Almost all emotion is repressed under the veneer of his total professionalism on and off camera, and it's a good contrast with the other newsman, who happens to not be taking things too well when it comes time for the showdown with McCarthey. He helps to counter Clooney's style with the black and white camera, which is very elegant at times, and also is very wise in taking in the close-ups and shadows (this, of course, is also a credit to his DP). And as the film goes along, and the suspense goes up and down with story, one can't help but see how effective the film goes to making parallels with today's current events. The big difference, of course, being how much depth and honesty was really in the news of Murrow's day.
But another success to the film is that it can hit home to anyone, regardless of political affiliation. It does include the communism struggle in the Cold War era. But it is more concerned with the ideals of what it means to be a serious journalist, to stick by your story and how it has creedence and importance to the public, even if there are risks. Another key performance is also Frank Langella, who happens to give that objective balance between someone like Murrow and someone like McCarthey. This is a fine contrast with the footage of the hearings themselves, which take up a quarter of the film. Aside from some flashes of a jazz band playing songs, and a couple of-the-time commercials (those the only minor liabilities for me, although still setting in the mood), it is focused on these guys, on the CBS news team, and the whole cast (Strathain, Clooney, Downey, Clarkson, etc) are so good it helps keep the look of the film from not going too much over the rails. It's a mature film for those open to the subject matter; I'm not too surprised that it's not out at the cineplexes, but that being said it's far more worth the time than most of the films that are there now.