Superbly crafted and surprisingly relevant

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2006)

Good Night and Good Luck
In Good Night and Good Luck, actor George Clooney takes the directorial reigns to share a story which would normally sound slightly obscure, and not too appealing to today's audiences - the story of 1950's television broadcaster Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and his mission to take down Senator Joseph McCarthy and his absurd anti-communist campaign.
This kind of story would normally seem a bit out of place in today's theaters, but Clooney (who also co-wrote) shows a great deal of intelligence throughout his film, forcing the viewer to notice astonishing parallels between the U.S. governments of the 1950s and today, and when we look at it, how ultimately similar they are. This is the real beauty of Good Night and Good Luck - the realization as one parts the theater of how, despite all sociatorial advances, how frighteningly similar a problem still exists today.
Clooney has also created an excellently made film, apart from the thought provoking political messages it raises - the cinematography is wonderful, as a camera sweeps through the lonely halls of the CBS broadcasting building, and the stark lighting on the black and white picture strongly help bring across the feel of the period, as do the excellent sets, music and 50's style costumes. The audience feels fully immersed in the middle of a 1950's television broadcasting building, so complete is the feel of the picture.
Good Night and Good Luck also excels in the performance strand, bringing out wonderful work around the table, especially from leading man Strathairn, who perfectly captures the essence of heroic yet humble journalist Murrow. But although he is clearly the star of the show, he is backed up by similarly terrific performances from Clooney as CBS producer Fred Friendly, Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson as secretly married crew members (it was illegal at the time), Jeff Daniels as a not entirely supportive executive, and Frank Langella as the weary yet understanding superior of Murrow. The actual footage of Senator McCarthy works wonderfully, as it drives home exactly how very real the issue was at the time, and ground the story in real life.
All in all, Good Night and Good Luck is one of the most expertly crafted films of the year by far. Although Clooney has brought his film in at a tight hour and a half, he easily succeeds in putting his point across, as well as raising several profound and thought provoking questions about the government system. Good Night and Good Luck is wonderfully made and still very relevant - definitely worth seeing for so many reasons.
-9/10