Brooding and poignant

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2006)

When one considers the schlock (albeit very entertaining) that Clooney has been seen in over the years it has been a pleasure of his directed work that it seems to play on many levels. The personal and the political are never far away and these are skillfully blended with dramatic and comedic tensions.
'Good night and good luck' is perhaps his most edgy work to date - for a major Hollywood name this is strongly political work casting glances askance at the current US administration as well as gazing piercingly at the events of the McCarthy era and revealing the terror ('the terror is right here in this room') that seeped into every niche of American life during that period. The depiction of Ed Morrow as the quintessential principled TV journalist brooding over the relentless nature of the confrontation with McCarthy is sensitive and fullblooded. No glamour there. The nods and winks to film noir are clear and the spare dialogue and sets contribute to an overall feeling of authenticity.
Personal triumph and tragedy are dissected in all their terrifying starkness, and all the time the director is tugging at out conscience, saying look at today, look at the 'War on terror', the lies and the paranoia. We've been here before.