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Good Night, and Good
Luck
Directed by: George Clooney
Starring: David Strathairn
Genre:
Drama
Run Time: 93
min.
Release Date:
October 2005
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
It was with great joy that
I finally got to see GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK. This is film-making and
tension at its best. Although there's no bloodshed or external battles,
the strain of what was going on during the McCarthy hearings in the 50s
is palpable in George Clooney's excellent script.
Not having been born until years later, I only remember my parents
commenting on how disgraceful the nation felt for letting a bully push
around individuals and companies without due process here in the U.S.
(where we pride ourselves on a system of justice!) The film is taut with
dangerous choices that could have very well ended the careers of
thousands of people at CBS. Edward R. Murrow (played beautifully by
David Strathairn) pulls off the performance of a lifetime by using every
mannerism ever noted in Murrow's early television career. The close-up
facial shots were excellent and added tension to the film without any
musical score (music is only used as a kind of introduction to different
segments of the story but sung in low jazz tones by legendary singer
Dianne Reeves). The use of black and white film adds an extra sense of
the time period and allowed George Clooney and company to meld together
stock footage of McCarthy and other Senators in a very seamless fashion.
It is noteworthy to point out that fear was the prime method that
allowed McCarthy to continue his ridiculous claims of communist
infiltration into the United States (people feared the communists
because of the nuclear threat and because they felt that the communists
would overrun our beloved country ....boy, does this sound familiar. Are
we still in the 1950s? Hmm. Is George Bush and company allowed to get
away with lots of things because of the fear of bombings, religious
fundamentalists, and those who disagree with America?) The "you're
either with us or against us" mentality is easily focused on in the film
by allowing Senator McCarthy to play and hang himself. If you were
against McCarthy, you were a communist or, at the very least, a
communist sympathizer (watching him attack Murrow as a communist was
ridiculous).
It's funny to read the mind-numbing reviews of individuals at Amazon.com who think that there
were communists in high places within
our government. And they still believe it! Even after the fall of
communism in the USSR. Grow up gang. It's the 21st century. The only
thing we need fear is not questioning our leaders, and this movie is a
nice reawakening to that thought.
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Image from Good Night, and
Good Luck
DVD cost: $15.99
Purchase:
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Film Review Stew
Favorite?
Yes.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Director/star George
Clooney opted to use archive footage of Joseph McCarthy instead of
employing an actor. Clooney said that when the movie had undergone test
screenings, audience members felt that the McCarthy character was
overacting a bit, not realizing that it was the actual McCarthy through
archive footage.
Movie Quote: "The
next show is going to be about Senator McCarthy. We're gonna go right at
him."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Good Night, and Good Luck
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