A review from That Guy Named David:

Good Night, and Good Luck (B)

Prior to seeing this movie, I really had never read or seen much about Edward R. Murrow. Sure, I probably knew about as much as the normal, college-educated male with some sense of 20th century history and understood that Murrow reported on WWII and was a pioneer in the field of early broadcast journalism. However, that was the extent of my knowledge. I did, however, know much more about Joseph McCarthy and his misguided attempts to label everyone who disagreed with him as a card-carrying member of the Communist Party in the 1950s. What I didn't know was that Murrow and McCarthy had a public feud that cut to the heart of the role of media and public discourse in this country. Good Night was written/directed by George Clooney and is definitely a left-leaning flick showcasing Murrow's on-air battles with McCarthy in the early years of CBS. I enjoyed the way Clooney used actual footage of McCarthy to portray him and did not rely on an actor's ability to completely vilify him (the real footage does a good enough job of vilifying him on its own). I also enjoyed the message apparent though the movie that a government that persecutes dissent and discourages discourse should have its actions reported by the media without fear that the government will begin persecuting the media itself for accurately reporting what is going on (a bit of an applicable message considering this current administration's blatant attempt to silence and/or discredit opposition to this administration's policies). Overall, not a bad movie (despite being a little slow at times). On a side note, I found it entertaining that the combined age of my girlfriend and me was about 10 years younger than the average age of the people in the theatre. I don't think there has been that much blue hair in one room since the Sex Pistols played CBGB in '78.