Good Night and Good Luck Movie Review a 2005 film starring Jeff Daniels, David Strathairn and directed and written by George Clooney.  Intelligent and stylish, Clooney’s  Good Night and Good Luck is about journalist Edward R. Murrow’s exposure of Senator Joe McCarthy’s un-American attack on alleged Communists. It is filmed in delicious 1950s black and white, as if the whole film is colored by Murrow’s clear character: subtle, strong, sure, straight.

I was impressed by director Clooney’s feel for the subject matter, and his respect for both his subject and his audience. There isn’t a single scene of hyped-up drama, a single instance of music-manipulation, just reality, and plenty of it. McCarthy, for example, is played by himself, through skillful use of archive footage.  David Strathairn as Murrow is understated and flawless.

The parallels to today cannot be missed, especially the timely footage of Eisenhower talking about our precious right to habeus corpus, so recently eviscerated by Bush. Just substitute the word Communist for the word terrorist, and you’ll receive an invaluable lesson.

Bless George Clooney! Here is a man the media has placed in the position of an idol, a man-toy, who is wise enough, and deep enough, to use that box office power to create a film of great significance. Watch it with your children as an opportunity to instruct them about character and courage. Watch it for yourself to renew your sense of hope - and the power a few brave souls have to change the world.

Shanti Mai
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