Good Night And Good Luck begins in 1958, when legendary newsman
Edward R. Murrow is receiving an award for excellence in broadcasting. Yet
Murrow’s acceptance speech is no self-congratulatory piece of fluff. He winds up
giving his comrades in the TV news business a stern warning about how instead of
being an informative instrument that reveals the world--as well as its
injustice--to its viewers, television is in danger of becoming nothing more than
"lights and wires inside a box" that placates its viewers with air-headed drivel
that is sanctioned by its sponsors. If you don’t know who Edward R. Murrow was,
you might wonder where he got the gumption to make a speech like that.
Yet when the film flashes back to 1953, it proceeds to show you precisely where
Murrow is coming from by dramatizing a clash between him and Senator Joseph
McCarthy that became a classic confrontation not just in TV history, but for the
regular history books as well. In 1953, McCarthy was on a rampage in Washington,
searching for Communists whom he claimed were in the highest levels of
government. Murrow became the point man in the attack against this insidious
witch hunt that McCarthy instigated. When Murrow’s documentary series See It Now
does a piece on Milo Radulovich, an Air Force Reserve officer who was forced to
leave because of the whispered allegations of Communist actives of his father
and sister, he fires the opening salvo at McCarthy in the media. Yet McCarthy
fires back, and it’s far more than just the on-air counterpoint that Murrow
gives him. The pressure builds on Murrow and his staff as their very loyalty to
the country is questioned.
David Strathairn is superb as Murrow. Not only does he capture the newsman’s
integrity both on and off the air, but Strathairn actually becomes Murrow for me.
George Clooney, who also co-wrote and directed, is very good as Fred Friendly,
Murrow’s friend and producer. Frank Langella is impressive as William Paley, the
father of the CBS network. The rest of the incredible cast include Robert
Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson, who are endearing as a married couple who hide
their union from their bosses at CBS; Jeff Daniels as a network executive, and
Ray Wise, who is extremely sympathetic as an anchorman who gets caught up in the
communist witch-hunt hysteria. Special features include a commentary by Clooney
and co-writer/producer Grant Heslov, and a well-done 15 minute look at both the
production as well as the era it’s set in. Good Night And Good Luck is smartly
directed by Clooney, who never bashes his viewers over the head with a message,
but instead draws them into this fascinating conflict with marvelous acting
and an intricate and intelligent script. --SF
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