Good Night, and Good Luck

Good Night, and Good Luck
Directed by George Clooney
Starring George Clooney, David Strathairn, Robert Downey Jr.

“We will not walk in fear, one of another” – the hard-hitting words of Edward R. Murrow who used television to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950’s. Good Night, and Good Luck accurately captures Murrow’s attempts to stop McCarthy, integrating historical footage of McCarthy and the trial of Annie Lee Moss which adds to the realism.

The film, released in 2005, was George Clooney’s second feature film as director. Clooney’s views on Darfur made the headlines a year after the film was released and he has backed Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, indicating his strong political opinions and possible motive for wanting to re-tell the story of Murrow. The film was nominated for six Oscars and ranked 89^th on the list of highest grossing films of 2005.

Although the film covers the story of Murrow in immense detail, it is slow paced and at times appears static. The story is interesting and one worth telling, bringing to attention the issues of the 1950’s and the worry over Communism within the American government at the time, as well as the way Murrow invented television as a powerful medium. But in making sure the film is accurate it loses its appeal to a wider audience and serves only as a cinematic account of this monumental era in recent American history.

There is no doubting the quality of stylistic features used in Good Night, and Good Luck. Its use of close-ups and shadowed lighting capture the controversial nature and pressure Murrow and the men behind See it Now were under. Fifty years on from See it Now, the film acts as an interesting insight into the actions of one television journalist who affected the lives of many Americans for the better.