Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

In the middle of the 50's, McCarthyism reached the heights of fear and terror. It appears that it is partly due to the personality of Senator McCarthy and lines of questioning that confined to bullying and intimidation at the expense of legal procedures. Being submitted to the HUAC could make you as communist as Stalin, so no one dared to criticize McCarthy for individual safety's sake. Terror and fear were the vital components of McCarthyism, a shameful time of America's history, that was close enough to repeat itself in the 2000's for that's the way history punishes those who forget their lessons.And the main lesson we can grasp from George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" is that you can't fool everyone every time. McCarthyism crossed a few boundaries, notably when the Air Force threatened to expel a soldier if he didn't denounce his father and sister, suspected of communist inclination on the basis of revelations… sealed in an envelope. So CBS 'Person to Person' host Edward Murrow (David Strathairn) felt it was time to confront the dubious methods of the Commission. This was a time where television was the new medium and Murrow was a man of no-nonsense rigid face and unflinching cigarette perfectly exuding unflappable professionalism. Strathairn gives the performance of a lifetime as a journalist who's confident, sometimes overly, but who's a pro to the core, he only consider facts and can't accept that lives would be destroyed without any substantial proof.And Murrow isn't a lone crusader for he finds support from his colleagues, his co-producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney), the CBS news executive (Jeff Daniels) and chief executive (Frank Langella). If anything, "Good Night, and Good Luck" praises the merit of team working and the solidarity driven by decency and principles. There's a moment where (before attacking McCarthy), Friendly asks the team if any of them can be accused of Communist sympathy even in the loosest way. The conclusion of this scene says it all "terror is right there in this room" and the scare of the moment was enough a reason to walk the walk. The paranoia is even induced by an interesting subplot involving Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkson, as two workers of very strange behavior, until we realize the purpose this subplot served: highlighting our own paranoia.George Clooney's retelling of the pivotal moment where America rebelled against McCarthy through the figure of Ed Murrow carries the mark of the 50's, it has a great black and white cinematography, a lot of smoking and the use of real footage of senator McCarthy complete the touch of authenticity. But the film is also a timely reminder of the value of good and honest information, it says a lot about the 50's but speaks volumes for the 2000's. Clooney has always been vocal about human rights and democracy. By choosing to tackle this subject, he reminded the audience that America has been through this, and September 11 instated a Green Scare that had nothing to envy from McCarthyism. And from the Patriot Act, it became clear that you had no other choice than proving loyalty to the flag or you were deemed as a traitor. But a good American beyond any reproach had the guts to destabilize McCarthy in the 50's, by doing his job.And "Good Night, and Good Luck" with a meticulous precision shows how the job is done, the meetings, the way they all pick quotations for McCarthy and deconstruct them. Murrow criticizes the Senator but invites him to give any refutation or correction. McCarthy's defense is to accuse Murrow of Communist sympathy. I thought that was the 'dramatic' moment where Murrow would finally take a hit. No, Murrow's next statement was nothing but brilliant. Since McCarthy didn't make any reference to all the statements made, that means he found no mistake. That's the power of Murrow, he doesn't flinch and his professionalism, empowers everyone around and it's a matter of time before McCarthy gets destabilized with the infamous "have you go no decency?", when brave people, without showing sympathy to Communism echoed this famous line of Sir Thomas More: "I would give the devil the benefit of the Law, for my own safety".It's not about McCarthy but Law.The downfall of McCarthy is a victory for Murrow but of bittersweet taste because the program will not be renewed, for lack of sponsors. And that might be another of the great lessons from such a short yet complex film. Like many movies about the 50's, ads play a significant part on TV, "Quiz Show" had Geritol, here we have Kent cigarettes and Alcoa, and as a buff of TV game shows like "What's my Line" I know that TV couldn't survive without it. So, the film rises the most important issue, one that works as a bridge between the 50's and now: if people have money to sponsors shows, if they can threaten a show to be canceled then information obviously belongs to the sponsor. It's as simple as that, and in a context of globalization, this reality gets even scarier..The movie ends with a warning, that if we take TV as just a medium for entertainment and not information, then we'll be alienated candidates for mediocrity. One can argue that Internet provided an alternative, but in a way, it also alienated us a little more and too many information are harder to control and verify so anything can be build on rumors and falsehoods. If McCarthy could use the Internet, maybe more lives might have been destroyed, he might have as well become president… or someone like him.But that's a prophetic aspect of Clooney's film I don't want to venture into, it depressed me to the point I envy anyone leaving this ugly world, and if it ever happened to me, I would be tempted to tell those I love; "good night… and good luck".

In Good Night and Good Luck, George Clooney really gets to show us his versatility in the Seventh Art. He wears many hats here, serving as Director, Co-author and co-star of this gripping and chilling film. It is a thoroughly engrossing "Truth is stranger than fiction" story (my favorite cinema genre!) of the persecution of alleged communists by certain powerful elements within the government of the United States in the early 50s. GOOD NIGHT won two well deserved Oscars….Highlighting and reminding all of us that, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it" ...I certainly think this is the operative phrase today, considering the myriad of illegal, unconstitutional surveillance and intrusions, put in place during the recent BUSH presidency, monitoring the conversations of its citizens to "ensure our national safety!". Definitely a must see film for anyone and everyone who is interested in our modern history. 10*....ENJOY!/DISFRUTELA! Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

I wish that I knew more about the story portrayed in Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck. I initially thought that the real problem here was that the film was just too short and sort of fell off a cliff, as though the budget had been drained and the production crew all packed up and went home, leaving Clooney to wrap up as best as he could.After reading some of the "hate" reviews here at IMDb, it does appear that investigations have been made into the basis of what is now the conventional wisdom (at least among liberals) according to which McCarthy was a witch hunter whose hysteria ended by harming many innocent people.Well, kudos to Clooney for at least getting people to think about these matters! The theme is incredibly contemporary, given our current government's obnoxious appeal to "State Secrets Privilege" as an excuse for withholding evidence about what is being done in the taxpayers' name. These days, it seems more like a ploy used by bureaucrats to protect themselves against charges of having wrongly killed and inappropriately spied on citizens, etc. I'll stick with my original '7' because I do believe that this film is worth watching, regardless of one's political slant. I liked the aesthetic use of black and white, and it was good to learn something about Murrow. Thanks, George!

This wordy and worthy film is a homage to veteran CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow who dared to challenge the hysterical campaign of Senator Joseph McCarthy to find Communist sympathisers in every corner of the post-war American establishment. David Strathairn is wonderful as the fearlessly independent TV presenter who would sign off his pieces with the phrase "Good Night, And Good Luck".The black and white treatment and the close-up camera-work make this look like a documentary and indeed a good deal of film footage from the time is used which adds to the effect. Such an uncommercial movie could not have been made without George Clooney who directed, co-wrote and stars as Murrow's producer Fred W Friendly. The whole thing was made for a mere $7M.Other well-known actors contributed to this political statement that television has to be about more than entertainment and advertisers: Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella, and Jeff Daniels (who some years later headed the cast of "The Newsroom", a TV series inspired by the spirit of Murrow).