The Story of When Logic and Reason Was Used To Combat Fear Mongering and Madness

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2014)

During the 1950's there was a wave of communist paranoia where a mixture of government policy and propaganda made everyone afraid that anyone could be a communist. From the kid round the street to your own Gran, the communist could be anyone. Or at least anyone you said it was as the whole thing became a witch hunt, with word alone being enough to give a lifetime in jail as a means of protecting national secrets. But there were no better witch hunters than McCarthy, who would incarcerate people without trial for merely being suspected of Communism.
In Good Night and Good Luck we focus on Edward R Murrow and his loyal team of news investigators who chose to take a stance against these policies. Murrow stood to expose McCarthy for the madman he was. Whilst McCarthy made blank accusations that Murrow was a Communist, Murrow destroyed his arguments through logic and reason. The focus of the film remains on behind the scenes of Murrow's campaign including the struggles that he faced to get out his truth and how he refused to step down from what he knew was right.
Throughout the film, it incorporates archive footage to show all the government actions with figures like McCarthy only ever appearing through old footage. It does not use any actors to recreate any of the government actions within the film. Thus the overall focus of the film remains on Murrow and his team, whilst creating a greater sense of realism through seeing the events really unfold before us.
But more importantly, just like Murrow when he was fighting McCarthy, the archive footage better enforces the idea that it is important to use the facts to back up its arguments. It's keeping clear of the McCarthyism belief of telling us what to think and instead tells us why we should think this way. Just like Murrow did with his audiences, the film treats us as thinking individuals who are allowed to have our own opinions, rather than a maniac such as McCarthy forcing their own beliefs down the public's throats.
It is this journalistic style that leads the film throughout to ensure honesty. It tries to be as factual as it can be on every element, from the financing difficulties that the show faced to the need for honesty amongst the entire film crew from the very start. Whilst the film does side with Murrow, it does not go so far as to glorify him. Instead a balanced view is shown on this issue as it is stated that even Murrow censors the facts to work towards his own point of view. Through details like this, a far more realistic representation of the media is shown and that every person when representing a story will have their own agenda.
On top of the brilliant scripting that remains as factual as possible to the real life events, it is also incredibly shot with a rich black and white style throughout. Partly it just makes it fit in with the archive footage and the standard black and white television sets of the 50's. But more importantly it gives the film a distinct look, with the focus remaining on the people rather than the backgrounds with their facial expressions coming across clearer in the black and white style. Also all the characters are smoking in near to every scene. Whilst a dreadful habit, the great visual of seeing the smoke fill the air better emphasises the office environment that they are working in.
It's this cool style mixed with the films factual nature which puts this amongst my favourite films of 2005 and why I view it as a serious overlook for the 2006 Oscars. Good Night and Good Luck shows us the potential that technologies of television reporting can be capable of. Murrow proves how the technology allows for opinions to be heard and for people to be protected against government policies. This message that the film tells remains eternal, as great reporters like Murray remain as important now as they ever were to keep government powers in check and working for the people.