Best Film About American Media Since "Network"

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2005)

Every once in a while, a character actor who has made a living popping up here and there in mostly unmemorable roles, is cast in a film and does such an amazing job that everyone starts immediately wondering why he or she isn't more famous. However, if you think about it, this sort of makes sense. Character actors don't carry around the baggage of being big-name Hollywood personas; they can entirely sink into a role and not fight audience tendencies to watch them as a celebrity rather than as a character. This works even more to their advantage when they're asked to play real people.
I'm not even that familiar with Edward R. Murrow, the famous American newscaster who waged a media war that eventually brought down Joseph McCarthy, but even if David Strathairn comes nowhere close to accurately impersonating Murrow, he gives a fantastic and intense performance. This movie is a terse, succinct account of the Murrow/McCarthy debates; there's not really a wasted moment or one single superfluous scene or line of dialogue. George Clooney (who deserves much credit for his work as director on the film) plays Fred Friendly, producer at CBS and, as portrayed here, Murrow's chief ally. The chemistry between he and Strathairn is terrific, especially in a scene toward the end of the film when they both have their hands slapped by the head of CBS, played by Frank Langella. Despite the fact that he appears in virtually every scene, and as good as he is, Strathairn does not walk away with the picture; it's a generous lead performance in that he allows every other actor, even in mostly small roles, to shine (Clooney should probably be credited for this as well). Robert Downey, Jr. and Patricia Clarkson play a secretly married couple who work on Murrow's news team. Their storyline might feel unnecessary on a casual viewing, but I thought it brought a nice dose of humanism to the film, and reminded the viewer that the war against McCarthyism was not simply an effort to save careers and professional reputations, but also to save personal and private lives. The movie is so tightly contained and so confined to the world of the news room, that it would be easy not to think of anyone in the film as having actual lives beyond the ones they lead at CBS, and the Clarkson/Downey, Jr. storyline is a clever way to convey that. And let me throw in one last bit of praise for another actor, Jeff Daniels, who in recent years has really impressed me with his versatility, and makes quite an impression in this film in only two or three brief scenes.
"Good Night, and Good Luck" is unashamedly one-sided. Clooney obviously has very strong feelings about the role media should play in American culture, and the responsibility news providers should feel in brining the public what they think the public needs, not necessarily what it wants. Given the fact that a recent devastating earthquake in Pakistan has been all but ignored by American media in favor of World Series coverage, I'd say this message has significant relevance. And in the lessons learned by the McCarthy debacle, it's not hard to draw a parallel to the current Bush Administration, and its efforts to label anyone remotely critical of American policy in Iraq as unsupportive of our troops or as unpatriotic, a band wagon on to which too many Americans are jumping for my comfort.
I've not seen as good a film about the American media since "Network," and in some ways I like this movie even more. "Network" is satire, effective satire, but satire nonetheless; it never feels exactly real. "Good Night...", on the other hand, is remarkable for how authentic it feels; I never felt like I was watching scripted actors, but rather was watching an especially exciting documentary. This is easily one of the "must see" films of the year.
Grade: A+