In Good Night And Good Luck George Clooney pays homage to one of the icons of the early days of television and one of this country's great journalist, Edward R. Murrow. The film details Murrow's confrontation with Sen. Joseph McCarthy over his anti-communist activities and his abuse of power on the Senate Subcommittee hearings.
The film opens in 1958 with Murrow, played by David Strathairn, giving a speech at an award ceremony. He begins to talk about the major responsibility the networks, the news media and the sponsors hold in their use of this new means of communication and then the film flashes back to 1953. At the time Murrow was highly popular with two shows on television, Person to Person and See It Now. After investigating a perceived miscarriage of justice Murrow and his producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney) decide to go after McCarthy. This is not a small concern to William Paley (Frank Langella) the head of CBS network. It is not a popular idea with the sponsor either.
The film is directed with a sure hand by Clooney in his sophomore outing in the director's chair. The film has a beautiful look to it achieved by the shimmering black and white cinematography. The film was actually shot in color but then changed to black and white to accommodate the news footage in use. One of the decisions made before the film was shot was not to cast an actor to play McCarthy, but to use his own image in news footage from the hearings instead. The black and white gives the film an authentic 50's feel, since that is how we all watched TV back then. Clooney also relies on tight close-ups and unique angles to enhance the experience.
The performances are all outstanding, but Strathairn should be singled out for giving the performance of his career. The film also features Patricia Clarkson and Robert Downey Jr. in smaller roles.
The film is slightly one sided. It excels at communicating the fear of those working in the media of being branded as communists, but it really does not capture the mood of the country that caused the anti-communist witch hunts to begin.
An excellent drama and one of the best pictures about television ever made. It also makes smoking look very glamorous!
At the Movie House rating **** stars
Other films of interest:
Network
Broadcast News
My Favorite Year
Guilty By Suspicion
The Front
Quiz Show
Citizen Cohn
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