Strathairn Gives Performance of Lifetime

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2005)

I teach history to high school students, so when Hollywood runs out of fresh ideas for horror flicks and tries to make a historical movie, I get nervous. Pearl Harbor comes to mind as one of many misguided, completely inaccurate attempts to make my job harder.
Sitting in the sparse audience in a Yakima, Washington theater at a recent screening of "Good Night and Good Luck" with David Strathairn in a stunning performance as Edward R. Murrow, this film was a wonderfully refreshing surprise.
Filmed entirely in black and white, ostensibly to be able to include 1950's footage of McCarthy himself, the film has the look, feel and taste of the decade. Smoke oozes from the screen, just as it did in real life before such behavior was taboo in all public places.
Clooney, who directs and acts in the film, was very nervous about finding an actor who could play Murrow convincingly, before finally settling on Strathairn, who in my opinion, gives the performance of his storied career. Accurately mimicking Murrow's rhythmic tone of voice and carefully portraying his television persona, Strathairn, near perfectly puts you on McCarthyism's doorstep, reminding us in the time of the War on Terror of the dangers of blind faith just the way Arthur Miller used The Crucible to warn 1950's Americans of McCarthy's tactics.
It's stunning the way in which the parallels, highlighted in McCarthy's and Murrow's own exact words from the time, can be identified in today's debates over patriotism, secrecy and the Patriot Act. Clooney undoubtedly intends this, and the film is a masterfully timed and crafted piece of nonfiction because of it.
It's not going to get Harry Potter dollars or even probably the Oscar nods it deserves, but it's honest and it's true and it's even funny in the right places, and you couldn't do better where Hollywood is concerned. My kudos and appreciation to everyone associated with this film.