• Home
• About
• Writing
• Projects
• Photos
• Resume

            Suddenly, Clooney was all over the small screen, and at the same time, the big screen, too.  However, it was not long after, that Clooney wanted to pursue something more than just being in front of a camera… He was ready to direct.

            In 2002 Clooney directed his first feature film entitled Confessions of a Dangerous Mind an adaptation of the cult memoir about game show impresario Chuck Barris (The Gong Show, The Newlywed Game).  The film sparked raving critics, and independent film success, and in a snap of a finger Clooney was a respectable filmmaker.

            The anticipation for Clooney’s follow-up began shortly after and now three years later the wait is finally over.  With the release of Good Night, and Good Luck (co-written, directed, and starred in by Clooney, himself), a film depicting an era in news casting where broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow challenged the words of Senator Joseph McCarthy in hopes of bringing him down, it’s no longer a mystery that George Clooney knows his TV personalities, and his movie direction.

            Long before opinion program commentators such as Bill O’Reilly there was the pioneer of broadcast journalism Edward R. Murrow. In the 1950s he produced a series of TV news reports for CBS (entitled “See It Now”) that countered the Cold War hysteria, and led to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy.  This is where Good Night begins.

            Filmed like a docudrama of the 50s, the shaky camera captures this moment in television and political history in pure black and white and pure brilliance.  Although this film is being told through the eye of Clooney, who clearly admires Murrow, the bias perspective does not affect the way this film is viewed upon; instead it shines a sympathy and reverent flag across Murrow and his team.

            What is so keen about the representation of Murrow, and everyone else involved with the McCarthy piece, is that the film solely takes place indoors without ever shining the light of exterior shots. This gives the sense of hard work, chaos, and journalistic integrity on behalf of Murrow and the writing staff, because as the audience, we never see anything outside of the office, board room, and the bar across the street, thus consider there is no time for personal living.

            David Strathairn’s performance as Edward R. Murrow is close to ideal.  From his deep monotone voice, to the smoking habit that became Murrow’s trademark, Strathairn got it down to a T.  Clooney obviously knew he had a winner when he cast Strathairn as Murrow, because on top of the intensity of the scenes in which Strathairn, as Murrow, looks into the camera and speaks with fire and trust about the subject line, the camera draws closer and closer, and as the audience, we cannot get our eyes off him.  It was hard to snap out of the mind-blowing performance even after Straithairn would say “good night, and good luck” sendoff Murrow made infamous.

            The supporting roles of the writers, and staff that helped Murrow rise to the occasion of blowing Senator McCarthy off his pedestal were also played by top-notch actors.  George Clooney plays the “See It Now” producer, Fred Friendly, and although Friendly looked nothing like the dashingly handsome Clooney, the role fit him well.  He was the backbone to Murrow, just as Clooney was the backbone to Good Night.  The only area that the casting director might have made a mistake was casting Patricia Clarkson as the wife of head writer Joe Wershba played by Robert Downy Jr. The very noticeable age difference between Downy Jr., and Clarkson often times made their on-screen chemistry invisible. Even if the age difference is only six years in real life, on screen Clarkson looked old enough to play Downy Jr.’s mother. 

            The one person whose contribution to the film meant everything, and coincidentally, was also the one person who played himself in the film, was Senator McCarthy.  Clooney made the choice of showing old newsreels of the senator as oppose to hiring a high-class actor to reenact them simply because it gave the film more of a documentary effect than it already did.  To say that Senator McCarthy deserves an Oscar award for his performance is an understatement.

            Although the mood of Good Night was meant to make the audience sit at the edge of their seats every time Murrow would go on the air to announce a new backlash against Senator McCarthy, the film had its mellow moments where it was meant to make the audience sit back and relax.  The scenes that cut to a jazz singer recording numerous tracks at the CBS studio mellows down the action, and gives a cool vibe to the film.  There is even a scene where Murrow is sitting at the booth just outside the recording studio listening in on the music during his contemplative state of mind prior to going on air with the breaking news.

            The mix of jazz, TV journalism, and politics makes Good Night, and Good Luck a film that is not only enjoyable, but educational for those who are not familiar with the Edward R. Murrow vs. Senator McCarthy brawl.  Yet, this film was designed to mimic a documentary, and like most nonfiction films, this one is of bias opinion brought to the screen by George Clooney. It is not to say that the conservatives ought to have had a say in this film, but it is to say that this is a biopic about Murrow, and the rest of the “See It Now” team, so don’t go into the film expecting to learn both sides of the scandal.  With that said, good night and good luck at the movies.

Rating: