Good Night and Good Luck (2006)

This movie will be attacked, and for all the wrong reasons. It will be interpreted as a piece of leftist agit-prop. It will be attacked for being filmed in black and white and entirely indoors. But these complaints should not make the potential viewer think that this movie is not worth the watching. That is incredibly wrong.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK captures a piece of time which is rapidly moving from current events to history. This is sad. The great Edward R. Murrow's meritorious dedication to the integrity of journalism is fast fading from the American memory. And while GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK only examines one aspect of his long career, what an aspect it is! Murrow's pit-bull grip to bring down the infamous Joseph McCarthy was probably the highlight of his career. (Unfortunately, it also relegated both men to the "back row" of their professions, in the long run.) Some people have read about how political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, brought down Boss Tweed in the 19th Century. Some people remember how Woodward and Bernstein were an integral part of forcing Nixon out of office. But this journalist's contribution to restoring sanity to America during the 1950s is hardly remembered, and not at all talked about in schools (unless you take a journalism class--and that's maybe!)

The performances are wonderful. Strathairn IS Edward R. Murrows: remarkably understated and still very intense. George Clooney, as Fred Friendly, is his perfect foil--very extroverted and constantly joking. It was good to see Robert Downey Jr. take such a serious role, again. His portrayal of Chaplin is the last serious thing I think he did. Jeff Daniels was perfectly cast as the tooth grinding stuffed shirt, and Frank Langella was on-the-money as the powerful William Paley, owner of CBS.

My only negative comment concerns the amount of time spent on the love affair between Downey and Patricia Clarkson. It really leads to an anticlimactic conclusion. The time would've been better spent helping younger viewers with some more exposition and gathering more sympathy for Ray Wise's Dan Hollenbeck, who was as much a target of the McCarthy sycophants as anyone else. (I would have also enjoyed more time watching McCarthy being brought down.) Still, this should BY NO MEANS prevent from watching this important film. It may not fit into your political views, but GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK will definitely fulfil the film lover in you.

One of the great things about George Clooney's "Good Night and Good Luck" is that you need not know anything about Senator Joe McCarthy or Edward R. Murrow to appreciate the importance and drama of their 50 year old conflict played out on TV in the every home, every night here in the US and around the world a half century ago.

Gloriously shot in evocative black and white and expertly directed by George Clooney with a sensitive eye towards the 1950's milieu of this story: stock footage of McCarthy is seamlessly and cleverly blended with new, "GNAGL" is made as contemporary and palpably current as this morning's newspaper.

David Strathairn plays Murrow as a conflicted man: inexorably drawn to the pursuit of truth and the uncovering of those that would attempt to obscure it yet always aware that his position as television's conscience requires of him a certain amount of decorum. His portrayal is marked by both a frantic restraint and a quiet passion that speaks to the very best in all of us.

"Good Night and Good Luck" is a daring, sophisticated movie that holds its audience in the highest regard: never once dumbing down its cogent story in order to win us over. It is a film that demands a lot of us, but our payback is in the invaluable and irrevocable currency of understanding and tolerance.

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Black and white, and set in 50's America, "Good Night and Good Luck" is the sign off slogan of one of America's greatest journalists and early television pioneers, Edward R. Murrow. Murrow made his bones in WWII as a correspondent, and continued with a distinguished career as a journalist and radio/television newsman at CBS in the 50's and early 60's.

"Good Night and Good Luck" is a jewel of a film for the history buff who still shakes their head at the paranoia and all encompassing aspects of the McCarthy witch hunt in the 50's. I think you just had to be alive then, and feeling the fear we all felt of the Cold War and the specter of Communism, to understand how this land could have been misled and led by the nose thanks to the "junior Senator from Wisconsin".

Some reviewers say that the clash between Murrow and McCarthy, between a free television press and television that is simply an entertainment venue, is as engrossing for those who aren't fully aware of that era of our history, as it is for those of us who lived then. Perhaps, but I think not. Part of what makes the film a success is the director's infallible instinct in recreating the 50's...from the prevalence of smoking to the clothes, sets and dialogue of those who lived through the era.

What a marvelous piece of imagery it was to utilize only filmclips of McCarthy in the movie, instead of getting an actor's portrayal. With this film, Geoge Clooney fully establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with, in filmmaking. Directing, assisting with the script, and acting the part of Edward R. Murrow's boss, Fred Friendly. The film is terse and pointed, perhaps more suited to a venue like HBO than it is to the movie house, and while it boasts a strong message in today's media bashing climate, and some incredibly strong performances, it still lacks that indefinable something that makes a fine film a great one.

Perhaps it is the lack of the human spark in the characters. The romance of two of CBS' staffers, the Wershbas (Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson) is little more than a sidebar. And while the faceoff between CBS' owner, William Paley (Frank Langella in a dynamic return to drama) and Murrow is not for the faint of heart, it is still cold and calculated. Some of the emotion is missing. Thus, the suicide role for television announcer Don Hollenbeck (Ray Wise) is more matter of fact than heartbreaking.

Clooney is fine in his role and the supporting cast, including television actors Tate Donovan and Reed Diamond, do excellent work. But any review of this film pales without the mention of David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow. Deciding, at the risk of his own career, to take McCarthy on, Murrow was a quiet symbol of what is great in America. As Murrow, Strathairn is eerily a recreation of the man himself, with the quiet, convincing style that belies a man of impeccable reputation. Strathairn is a bit of a journeyman, with a long history of memorable small parts. You may not even remember him in L.A. Confidential, in The Firm, in The River Wild, or over the course of a 25 year film career. You remember you've seen him before, but you can't remember where. Less easy to forget is his memorable turn as Robert "Bob" Wegler, A.J.'s guidance counselor in the 2004 run of "The Sopranos". As Bob, Strathairn was far less interested in helping A.J. than he was in bedding Carmela, which he did in a delicious turn of events on the show.

As Murrow, Strathairn has come into his own as an actor; he is a quiet force on the screen, the reincarnation of the newsman. Affable and steely, he makes you believe in his cause, which is not bringing down Joe McCarthy, but rather bringing up the quality of the television industry, to make it more than just another entertainment venue. Clooney chose well when he chose Strathairn, and the actor's passion and intensity shines through in the role. I suppose there may be a better turn in a leading actor's role in film this year, but at this point, I have not seen any.

For the serious film buff, "Good Night and Good Luck" is being shown in limited release around the country, and will not win the hearts and minds of many who go to films to be strictly entertained. The message is too intense, the film too understated for most. However, it is among the very best in films released this year, and while somewhat emotionless for the audience, one can tell that it was a labor of love for the filmmakers.

In a sidebar, the clips of songstress Diane Reeves singing 50's jazz between interludes was incredibly enjoyable!

If only they could have found a way to include my favorite Murrow quote about television:

"If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable."

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Unlike many films that build off biography and the events of the past (e.g., "The Aviator"), "Good Night, and Good Luck" tries scrupulously to reproduce the events it protrays, down to using many of Edward R. Murrow's exact words and cutting in real footage of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his Senate hearings. This approach moves it far closer to a documentary than other Hollywood productions. The long-lens black and white photography, which brings the foreground into exquisite relief while blurring the distance, also helps to create an atmosphere of grainy verisimilitude. True to history, the newsmen all smoke, creating a swirling haze that contributes to the photographic effect. Really dazzling.

The meticulous acting of David Strathairn, a brilliant casting choice for Murrow, and George Clooney's restrained and ironic presentation -both as co-director and in his part as Murrow's producer Fred Friendly -give this film emotional subtlety and intellectual power. I'm so pleased to see Strathairn in a part really deserving of his considerable talent. And I have to say that the mobile face in black and white of Robert Downey, Jr., as Joe Wershba (one of Murrow's colleagues), is a feast for the eyes. McCarthy, of course, plays himself in newsreel footage, which is also an intelligent decision, explained in the commentary on the film, because it keeps his character from toppling over into caricature and allows the film to explore journalistic ethics without being too heavy-handed about its moral position. Of course, that position is there, but as Murrow advocated that journalism has a role in public argument, it's only right that this film take a position too.

Because the film so scrupulously reflects history, the storytelling is not as tight as it might be. The romantic "subplot" between Wershba and his wife the commentary says the backers told Clooney and his co-director Grant Heslov that they needed a woman in the newsroom feels like a distraction, and since no "actor" is playing McCarthy, there is a lot that cannot be done in the way of direct confrontation between the principal characters. Suspense is a little lacking also, chiefly because any educated person knows what really happened. But Clooney and Heslov do a good job of working around these limitations.

In addition to directors' commentary, the DVD also includes an excellent companion piece, which interviews Murrow's and Friendly's children, as well as surviving Murrow colleagues. Dianne Reeves' singing (the film imagines her as a kind of Greek chorus) is also highly enjoyable -I'm planning on buying this film's soundtrack too; can't remember the last time I wanted to do that!

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George Clooney has come into his own as a writer and director. His attention to detail and realism, rivals almost anything else I've seen out there in years. It's almost too much like watching a documentary. A bit talky for its 93 minutes, but should be seen by Americans as a reminder of modern-day witch hunts, and how the lives of innocent people are sucked-in and destroyed. The real star of this film however, is David Strathairn's effective portrayal of Edward R. Murrow. One of the better biographical characterizations by any actor. This is not a film I'll be watching over-and-over again though.

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