Oh, what a masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2005)

This movie is something else - as a movie (theme notwithstanding), it is wonderfully paced, controlled, with something unforeseen and interesting on the screen with every new scene. Mr. Clooney is a wonderful director.
Also, theme notwithstanding, the acting is superb - Strathairn gave me goosebumps, Langella was masterful, Clarkson phenomenal, and the rest of the cast was absolutely wonderful. An incredibly marvelous cast.
Now, about the theme - if ever there was temptation to show 'the good ol' days', this would be it. After all, we all know how it ends - McCarthy was horrible, McCarthyism was an all-out attack on civil liberties and everything American and Murrow is a mythic hero. Right?
Well, this movie shows that, although all involved were convinced McCarthy and McCarthyism were wrong, the time period wasn't so black-n-white for the characters. There was fear, there was self-doubt, there were not-so-wonderful compromises made. This movie is about REAL people and it shows them in a REAL way - with humor, with fear, with anxiety, and even with extreme mental illness.
And, this movie has a point of view - it does not hide that it is a strident plea for better news media. And, like Murrow did with McCarthy, it uses Murrow's own words to make its case. Now, if you hate movies with a point of view, you may think you don't want to see it - but, I think you would be doing yourself a disfavor by staying away. Good Night and Good Luck doesn't assume we are sheep (or dittoheads), willing to simply follow. No, this movie MAKES A CASE, one that allows you to think for yourself and one that spurs discussion.
One little 'downside' - if you don't know much about McCarthy or Murrow except the broad strokes of quick history, you won't learn much more from seeing this - Clooney and Heslov don't spend time with back-story. They just dive into the action, and it is a GREAT ride.