“Good Night and Good Luck” (Warner Brothers)
“Good Night and Good Luck” is a film about the conflict between television newsman Edward R Murrow and Senate investigator Joseph McCarthy. Filmed in black and white it is a stark presentation of two men locked in a duel of wits and words, with the path of television news resting in the balance.
George Clooney directed the film and he keeps his plot straight on course with little time for character development and study. Murrow (David Strathairn) is a man with a mission and that is to expose McCarthy for the tyrant he is. To do this he has to fight his own fears as well as those of his boss William Paley (Frank Langella) at CBS.
A side story, though too little time is devoted to developing it fully, concerns Don Hollenbeck (Ray Wise), one of Murrow’s colleagues who is being persecuted in the press by allies of McCarthy. Hollenbeck asks Murrow for help in fighting off the news stories but Murrow is focused on battling McCarthy.
A second side story involves Joe and Shirley Wershba (Robert Downey, Jr. and Patricia Clarkson), two more workers in Murrow’s newsroom. They are secretly married but can’t go public as CBS has a policy against married couples working together. Again this story seems to have some significance but it is never developed enough to let the audience in on what import it has.
As Murrow, Strathairn is nothing short of brilliant. He has the look, the vocal tone, the mannerisms and the authority of the man. It is an amazing performance ands will surely be recognized when awards are handed out.
Wise is an outstanding supporting actor as Hollenbeck. Even with an underwritten role he manages to make an impact, and his presence is felt even when he is not on screen. Clooney is also good in a small role as Murrow’s producer Fed Friendly.
The movie is true to its nineteen fifties look and feel. Everyone in the movie smokes and smokes and smokes. They do it so constantly and consistently that it becomes humorous – but that is the way it was back in those days.
The film is rated PG for mild profanity.
The movie is worth seeing for Strathairn’s performance. It is also a good way to show how dangerous demagoguery can be. Still as entertainment it is lacking. It is too cold, too sterile, and too light on full character development to qualify as outstanding entertainment. You will leave the theater thinking you learned a lot but you won’t feel totally entertained.
I scored “Good Night and Good Luck” a signed off 6 out of 10.
