Good Night and Good Luck

Genre: political drama
Director: George Clooney
Release: 2005
Studio: Section Eight et al. - Warner Independent
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 7.9/10


Better Dead than Red


In 1953, while fear of communism was spreading across America, the unusual denial of a military man’s rights prompted Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn), then host of the CBS public affairs program See it now, to confront Joe McCarthy, the powerful Senator who was leading a merciless crusade against the Red Menace. With George Clooney (Fred Friendly, Murrow’s associate), Robert Downey Jr. (Joe Wershba, journalist), Joseph McCarthy (himself), Frank Langella (William Paley, CBS head), Grant Heslov (Don Hewitt), Ray Wise (Don Hollenbeck, anchorman), Patricia Clarkson (Shirley), Dianne Reeves (the jazz singer), Jeff Daniels (Sig Mickelson, a CBS boss), Tate Donovan (Jessie Zousmer) and Alex Borstein (Natalie).

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From the outset, it is quite clear that George Clooney’s tough and expertly crafted movie is motivated by a political agenda. Inspired by Murrow’s strident warnings to the press corps in the opening sequence, Clooney aims to compare George W. Bush’s war on terror to McCarthy’s campaign fifty years before. For all intents and purposes, such a parallel cannot be deemed inappropriate since history, like a wheel forever turning, repeats itself continuously.

To re-enact the remarkable Murrow-McCarthy showdown, Clooney was assisted by a great cast, including McCarthy himself who appears from time to time through TV excerpts. Since almost all of the action takes place within the walls of CBS, as if the people working there were serving time in prison, the movie is steeped in claustrophobia; newsmen are always in focus, debating civil rights and the ethics of journalism, commenting on recent events, analyzing footage, planning ahead and worrying about possible retaliation by the Senator or other parties involved. And rightly so, since the row caused considerable turmoil in the CBS newsroom and anger in its corporate offices. Moreover, like NETWORK and BROADCAST NEWS, Clooney’s project dares depict the inescapable conflict in modern media between news, entertainment and profit. Thus conceived, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK is a truly worthy project... but one that I found a bit dry and heavy. Frankly, I doubt that the themes developed here can interest the average fan who turns to cinema more for a good time than a seminar on political principles.

Still, production values are solid in GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK if you ignore its glaring continuity problems. I was especially impressed by the movie’s virile and witty dialogues spiced with irony and dark humour. Dianne Reeves’ multiple interventions in song add class to the narrative and help recreate the mood of the era while the subplot concerning Joe Wershba intrigued me all along. As for the script, it strictly adheres to the rules of moral integrity that Murrow himself followed during his career. Some segments could have been shortened or eliminated (for example, the interview with Liberace seems disruptive), and anti-tobacco activists will be shocked to see people smoking abundantly throughout the movie in true Fifties fashion.

To sum up, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK serves as a timely but grim history lesson given by one of America’s great men of conscience. Do try to see it even though it may test your patience at times.

MBiS

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