George Clooney Sets Out His Stall, Emphatically

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2005)

"Good Night, And Good Luck" is a starkly realistic retelling of one of the darkest chapters of American history and some of the people who fought against it. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the junior senator from Wisconsin, hopped on the red-baiting hysteria of the post World War II era and rode it to become one of the most powerful men in the country. His use of a Senate Investigating sub-committee to terrify both the powerful and the ordinary through the use of such tactics as outright lies, innuendos and half truths struck fear into the nation. Edward R. Murrow, the most celebrated broadcast journalist of his era, decided to take on both the redbaiters and McCarthy on his weekly half hour news program on CBS-TV, "See It Now." He mobilized his legendary staff, which included Fred W. Friendly and "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt, and successfully challenged McCarthy by using his own words and actions against him. George Clooney, who co-wrote, directed and played Friendly, hits the viewer right between the eyes with the message that fear breeds cowardice and dissent is not traitorous. David Strathairn's portrayal of Murrow is almost identical to Murrow himself, down to the voice, pacing and inflections. Clooney pulls a Murrow by using the actual footage of McCarthy rather than casting an actor to portray him. Patricia Clarkson and Robert Downey, Jr., who play the secretly married couple Shirley and Joseph Wershba (CBS policy forbade married couples from working together in the 1950s), bring an interesting sub-plot to life. Frank Langella and Ray Wise, as CBS Chairman William Paley and reporter Don Hollenbeck, provide highly realistic portrayals to their roles. There is one interesting omission from the movie. After McCarthy broadcast a reply to Murrow's program attacking him, Murrow held a press conference in which he sets forth how he wanted to be remembered. "When the record is finally written, as it will be one day," the reporter read from a prepared text, "it will answer the question, who has helped the communist cause and who has served his country better, Senator McCarthy or I. I would like to remembered, if at all, as the answer to that question." Certainly George Clooney thinks so, as does history. A must see film, especially given the times in which we live. Here's hoping this limited release film, shot in black and white, is given wider release. As of today (10/11), it is showing on only eleven screens in New York and a similar number in Los Angeles.