Good Night, And Good Luck - Palm Beach Post movie review

'Good Night, and Good Luck': A good mix with a left jab

By HAP ERSTEIN
Palm Beach Post

As my high school history teacher often emphasized, the reason we study the past is to learn lessons we can apply to the present.

George Clooney understands that well, as he demonstrates with Good Night, and Good Luck, the masterful, thought-provoking recollection of CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow's 1954 clash with Communist witch-hunting Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Warner Independent Pictures

'Good Night, And Good Luck'

The verdict: A tense, thought-provoking look at the early days of television.

Director: George Clooney
Starring: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Rose Abdoo, Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson
Run time: 90 minutes
Release date: Oct. 7, 2005
Rating: PG for mild thematic elements and brief language.
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Without overtly alluding to contemporary parallels, Clooney (who co-wrote, costars and directs) plants thoughts in moviegoers' minds of today's political climate, with this tale of civil rights stripped away in the name of patriotism. At the same time, concerns about television news and its battle for prominence with the encroaching forces of entertainment seem quaint and ironic, since from our current perspective we know which side emerged triumphant from that tug of war.

With crisp, saturated black-and-white cinematography by Robert Elswit, Clooney transports us back to the post-World War II era of television's infancy, when on-air commentators smoked constantly, wore trust-inducing power pinstripes and were just beginning to flex their muscles of nationwide influence.

In this milieu, Murrow (played with expertly clipped cadences and commanding oratory by David Strathairn, a character actor who knows how to devour a towering starring role) is revered. That is certainly so for Clooney and his producer/co-screenwriter, Grant Heslov, who rely closely on on-air transcripts for the film's you-are-there documentary feeling, yet its tight, tension-filled hour-and-a-half are never textbook dry.

The movie is framed by scenes of Murrow years later, being paid tribute by a news directors group, who are paid back with an abrasive speech complaining that television has quickly become a tool to "detract, delude, amuse and insulate us." It then flashes back to view McCarthy's mounting influence through fear, half-truths and claims of guilt-by-association.

Aided by his program's producer, Fred Friendly (Clooney), Murrow chips away at McCarthy's tactics, challenging his character assassination of a military officer, described as a Communist sympathizer. Meanwhile, similar accusations are being leveled against a CBS news staffer (Ray Wise) and a secretly married couple (Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson) who work alongside Murrow and who fall victim to post-war corporate policies.

Those old enough to remember those days probably can recall the eventual live on-air showdown between McCarthy and Murrow. But they may not be aware of the corporate office suite stand-off between Murrow and CBS President William Paley (an icy, long-suffering Frank Langella). Paley may sympathize with his broadcasting star's crusading spirit, but he is running a huge corporation and has sponsors to appease and soap to peddle.

Good Night, and Good Luck is pointedly educational, but it never forgets to be entertaining, too. Its showdown between Murrow and McCarthy (played with bulldog tenacity by the senator himself, as seen in well chosen broadcast clips from the period) is tense and suspenseful, even to those familiar with the outcome. In the movie's most blatant nod to entertainment, Clooney uses transitional snippets of jazz singer Dianne Reeves on the CBS soundstage, momentary pauses from Murrow's pressure cooker battles.

Strathairn's high-intensity performance is award-worthy caliber, all the more impressive to those who know Murrow's distinctive delivery style. As a director, Clooney has come a long way since Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, his comparatively trivial rookie effort. It is amazing what a filmmaker who feels passionately about his subject can accomplish.