2008 Woodie Awards
Good Night, Good Luck, Good Movie
Mark Ayoub
Issue date: 2/10/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
In the 1950s, Sen. Joe McCarthy led what is now referred to as a "witch-hunt" to rid the government and media of Communists using what was later determined as mostly baseless and unfounded accusations. While most of society wrapped themselves up in McCarthy's world of fear, crusading news anchor Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) was determined to stand up to McCarthy and expose to the public the lies McCarthy was propagating.
Using Murrow's signature close-off line as its title, "Good Night and Good Luck" passionately captures the essence of Murrow's courage in what is undoubtedly one of the best movies of 2005.
Set in black and white to capture the feel of the era, the film opens with Murrow's speech to a broadcasters convention in 1958, before moving on to his first incident of successfully challenging a report the U.S. Army refused to publish. This is used as an excellent character development tool to show how Murrow is not afraid to go further and challenge the facts.
The rest of the rather short 93-minute film is dedicated to Murrow exposing McCarthy. From the start, Murrow is going extra lengths to research McCarthy. He is routinely accused of inserting editorial bias into his newscasts, which he simply defends as him owing it to the public to tell the facts. At times, this gets him in trouble with both the station and the public, but Murrow never backs down.
Within the film, there are some intriguing subplots, including the romance between two employees who have to keep it secret until they no longer can. As well, Murrow's partner, Don Hollenbeck (Ray Wise), plays an important role throughout the movie, as he is more psychologically affected by McCarthy than Murrow is, culminating in a shocking ending (well, shocking if you don't know the story).
There is not one boring moment of the film. From the beginning, it draws the viewer in and does not let go.
As director and writer (and also an actor) of the film, George Clooney does it all flawlessly. He made an excellent decision in choosing to use archived footage of McCarthy rather than cast a separate actor to play him. The screenplay also helps to capture not only the essence of the McCarthy battles, but also the aura of a 1950s television newsroom.
The one criticism of this film could be its length, as more material could have been added to further develop the plot. That's not to say that it wasn't successfully developed anyway, though. While this film critic was not alive during the days of Edward Murrow, most of those who were said that Strathairn completely captures the essence of Murrow. "Good Night and Good Luck" is one of the best movies of the year; perhaps, even one of Clooney's best, and hopefully will be rewarded with the awards it deserves in the coming months.
Using Murrow's signature close-off line as its title, "Good Night and Good Luck" passionately captures the essence of Murrow's courage in what is undoubtedly one of the best movies of 2005.
Set in black and white to capture the feel of the era, the film opens with Murrow's speech to a broadcasters convention in 1958, before moving on to his first incident of successfully challenging a report the U.S. Army refused to publish. This is used as an excellent character development tool to show how Murrow is not afraid to go further and challenge the facts.
The rest of the rather short 93-minute film is dedicated to Murrow exposing McCarthy. From the start, Murrow is going extra lengths to research McCarthy. He is routinely accused of inserting editorial bias into his newscasts, which he simply defends as him owing it to the public to tell the facts. At times, this gets him in trouble with both the station and the public, but Murrow never backs down.
Within the film, there are some intriguing subplots, including the romance between two employees who have to keep it secret until they no longer can. As well, Murrow's partner, Don Hollenbeck (Ray Wise), plays an important role throughout the movie, as he is more psychologically affected by McCarthy than Murrow is, culminating in a shocking ending (well, shocking if you don't know the story).
There is not one boring moment of the film. From the beginning, it draws the viewer in and does not let go.
As director and writer (and also an actor) of the film, George Clooney does it all flawlessly. He made an excellent decision in choosing to use archived footage of McCarthy rather than cast a separate actor to play him. The screenplay also helps to capture not only the essence of the McCarthy battles, but also the aura of a 1950s television newsroom.
The one criticism of this film could be its length, as more material could have been added to further develop the plot. That's not to say that it wasn't successfully developed anyway, though. While this film critic was not alive during the days of Edward Murrow, most of those who were said that Strathairn completely captures the essence of Murrow. "Good Night and Good Luck" is one of the best movies of the year; perhaps, even one of Clooney's best, and hopefully will be rewarded with the awards it deserves in the coming months.