Image courtesy of www.impawards.com
Director :
George Clooney
Cast :
David Strathairn……….Edward R. Murrow
Robert Downey Jr……….Joe Wershba
Patricia Clarkson……….Shirley Wershba
Ray Wise……….Don Hollenbeck
Frank Langella……….William Paley
Jeff Daniels……….Sig Mickelson
George Clooney……….Fred Friendly
Tate Donovan……….Jesse Zousmer
It’s obvious in Good Night, and Good Luck that George Clooney has studied his subject extensively. The tone of the day, the look of the people, the scenery, the way in which Edward Murrow (David Strathairn) has to broadcast, all contributes to a wonderfully imagined world. This is the CBS of the era in which the takedown of Joe McCarthy begins.
Good Night, and Good Luck is the story of Murrow’s initial stand against McCarthy and his witch hunt to find Communists who had infiltrated the government. While years later uncovered Soviet documents would prove his assertion to be correct, McCarthy’s methods and ramblings moved the political spectrum from complete support to outrage as he managed to turn off the masses in part due to his response to journalists like Murrow. And while it has a great story and a brilliant performance from Strathairn in the starring role, one can’t help but notice the similarities to another biopic from a student about his subject: Oliver Stone’s The Doors.
Filmed in black and white, ostensibly to take footage of McCarthy and transpose it into Clooney’s world without looking out of place, Good Night, and Good Luck begins with Murrow genuflecting as part of a ceremony to honor his career. And from these first few shots we see Murrow the way Clooney does: as a larger than life icon of his era. There is a sense of endearment by Clooney, as the saga of Murrow taking on McCarthy and his methods is shown in the same way Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) took on returning outlaws in High Noon. Murrow was part of the fight, for sure, but Clooney chooses to emphasize Murrow as a lone man fighting the establishment when he was another in a series of voices who combated the Wisconsin senator. Strathairn seems more myth than man, on that rare pedestal of being portrayed in a light that Val Kilmer’s Jim Morrison had.
But it is a terrific story, ham-handed direction by Clooney aside. Assembling a first rate cast to compliment Strathairn, Clooney wisely lets his cast work around Strathairn’s performance. He’s the star of the show and the surrounding cast knows it; it would be easy to try and upstage Strathairn early and often. But Clooney has assembled some veteran hands (Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels and Patricia Clarkson) as well as putting himself in a supporting role. Clooney the director and Clooney the actor are on the same page as well; it’s easy for a writer/director to center more attention than necessary on his own character. Its smart directing by Clooney, who has a flair for good camera shots and knows how to tell a story, and Good Night, and Good Luck is a good movie.
