Movie Review: Good Night, and Good Luck

Throughout his broadcasting career, the legendary journalist and newsman Edward R. Murrow was was known for his integrity, courage and social responsibility. In his latest film, director George Clooney gives us a small slice of life at CBS news, circa 1954, as Murrow and the CBS news team prepared to take on Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Clooney's film isn't so much about the man (and we're not provided much in the way of autobiographical detail) but rather about the idea of responsibility and credibility, and how television has the power to not only entertain, but inform.

Good Night, and Good Luck is a labor of love from Clooney, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Grant Heslov. Clooney has made the wise choice of shooting in gorgeous black and white (and beautifully filmed by cinematographer Robert Elswit), which is fitting for the period the film takes place (most television programs were broadcast in black and white).

David Strathairn is Murrow, in a performance of quiet dignity and intelligence. The film opens with Murrow delivering a speech to a group of radio and television broadcasters, and the story is told in a flashback to 1954. Murrow, and his team at CBS News, have decided to run a controversial story, about how an Air Force officer was drummed out of the service due to Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Senate hearings on communism. Murrow is outraged (although, as Strathairn portrays him, quietly outraged) that the Air Force officer, nor anyone else in his court martial, was allowed to see any evidence that would indicate a tie to communism. So, on his program See It Now, Murrow covers the story.

The CBS newsroom is the main point of action for the film, and it is a cramped, tight place with a lot of activity (and a lot of smoking). Murrow doesn't even have a proper set; he basically sits in a chair at a counter, with his producer, Fred Friendly (George Clooney), literally at his side, tapping him on the leg to let him know he's on the air.

Of course, taking on McCarthy is a bold move, and doing so can result in the loss of advertisers to Murrow's show. Murrow's objectivity is questioned, but Murrow insists that the presentation of facts has nothing to do with objectivity, and he's right.

Article Author: Scott C. Smith

Scott C. Smith is a freelance writer from Happy Valley, Oregon. He has a cat and likes pop culture a little too much.

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