The battle for the soul of America is still on.

Rating: 10/10 (26 February 2006)

If the awesome message in Harold Pinter's acceptance speech of the Nobel Prize for Literature needed a worthy friend it couldn't have done much better than Good Night,and Good Luck. Senator Mc Carthy's logic and rhetoric perfectly mirrors the injustices ever more evident in todays America. Make no mistake the corporate advertising pressure and current mantle of media interests "dumbing-down" a seemingly indifferent voting society is even more evident today than it was back then. If you don't believe this think about the principles of not detaining humans without trial, spoken during the film by a contemporary 1950's true American and contrast this with the detention and psychological torture of humans in camps ultimately controlled in name of the American people right now, today. The message can't be any clearer, if as a society we allow this to happen to one of us it will one day happen to us all. We can't allow these principles to slip. Think about issues involving media control and the important bearing this has on democracy working as best it can, this film is a statement by its makers that they believe those that watch it will understand this message and demand higher standards from those they have elected to govern them. The real elegance of the message lies in Clooney and Heslov as makers of this film echoing the deeds and integrity of Murrow and Friendly. Simply substitute the likes of Fox News and Cheney, powerful enemies, for Hearst and Mc Carthy in the film itself. The Communist Witchunt like the War on Terror serves to excuse the injustices perpetrated in the name of "security". If none of this bothers you in the slightest just go and see the film for the sheer brilliance of the acting, screenplay ,direction and critically for it all to work visually -the art direction. Particularly impressive are Strathairn, Wise and Langella. Downey, Clooney, Clarkson and Daniels are great but their characters demanded less. Eisenhower was just great too!. Orwell and Pinter will sleep easier in their beds tonight lulled by the great use of music in the film and the historical reminder that ultimately McCarthy was beaten even if similar forces that backed him are still running loose in America today.