in the best tradition of American political film

Rating: 8/10 (13 October 2006)

This is not the first film of George Clooney, 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' preceded it, but this is certainly the first important film. I am no big fan of Clooney the actor, even in this film his own part seems to me one of the weakest links in a very good movie, and I prefer that he focuses on directing. 'Good Night, and Good Luck' shows that he has the talent.
The story of the fight between the CBS news team and the political persecution and witch hunt led by right-wing senator McCarthy in the 50s has strong connotation in the actual political scene in America. This is one more reason to applaud the good work done by Clooney, who is shooting the whole movie in black and white and mixes almost perfectly real news footage with the atmosphere in the TV studios of the time recreated with a great care for detail. Jazz music links pleasantly between the scenes and builds the overall tome of the film. Splendidly acted by David Strathairn in the principal role, Downey Jr., and a few other excellent actors, the principal downsize is the lack of more consistent material. It is seldom that I consider a film to be shorter that it should be, but here is one of those cases. Yet concision may be looked as a sign of quality and hopefully, this movie coming directly from the tradition of 'Citizen Kane' will be one of the first steps in a magnificent director career.