Could've Been Better

Rating: 6/10 (10 November 2005)

An interesting movie - documentary, really - which describes the hysteria permeating Cold War America. Senator McCarthy, for all his shortfalls, turned out to be the villain after all was said and done, although his intentions did not seem unreasonable. As many liberals place intentions high on the courage meter, this should at least warrant a "nice try" for McCarthy.
Of course, it didn't, and now we have this movie to re-open that sad episode, which shall be numbered in the countless episodes where our Government has come a little too far through the front door of our homes.
Director George Clooney is capable and the movie has a comfortable flow through the story. But from a historical perspective, Murrow was simply one out of many who were clamoring to get a piece of McCarthy. Indeed, if Clooney had checked a bit more, he'd have realized that journalists Elmer Davis and Martin Agronsky were reporting about McCarthy's tactics long before Murrow. Murrow himself has admitted that he had very little to do with McCarthy's fall.
Despite the left-leaning storyline, the acting was sublime. There were too many individual contributions to note, but certainly Oscar-caliber performances.
Perhaps it was the black-and-white format which rubbed me a little bit. Also, I think that if you were around before color, and forced to watch everything in black-and-white, then you shouldn't be submitted to it again. I'm done with monochrome, no matter what the topic.
Finally, the movie played too much like an editorial documentary. Way too many inferences and speculations about what really happened. And I can't see why that would be, when you've so many references straight from the original characters to solicit.
If you're a conservative like me, it can be entertaining. Admit it, we have our skunks, too! If you're a liberal, you'll feel this movie is an instant classic.