I just watched the film, and I want to say that I think everyone should watch it since it has lots to say about what happened in the early '50s and also in our early '00s. I did find that some of director and co-scripter George Clooney's artistic decisions took some of the air out of the various dramatic balloons. I applaud that the film is very personal and also stylistically-unique for a current movie. I still thought that often the B&W photography, the use of a female jazz vocalist to underscore some of the plot points at regular intervals, and the almost complete lack of "personal" lives (except for the one married couple) made the film a bit too arid, although there was some welcome dry wit sprinkled throughout.

Before I sound like a complete wet blanket, I also want to praise David Strathairn's dead-on portrayal of Edward R. Murrow. By far the most compelling parts of the film for me were his readings of Murrow's honest, eloquent indictments of Tail-Gunner Joe McCarthy's witch hunts. The camera simply focusing on Strathairn was very powerful to me and caused me to tear up a couple of times during those scenes, so I certainly think he deserves any acting nominations/awards he gets. Maybe they should hook up Murrow (and even McCarthy) for a scriptwriting credit, but I guess that's too late.

Another thing which I'm ambivalent about is the short running time. Usually, I think "important" pictures are far too long, but this one seems to err on the side of brevity, if only because I found too many missed dramatic opportunities. And, no, I don't mean melodramatic. I just mean something which can inspire others as much as Murrow did 52 years ago.

Grade: B-

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Another thing which I'm ambivalent about is the short running time. Usually, I think "important" pictures are far too long, but this one seems to err on the side of brevity, if only because I found too many missed dramatic opportunities. And, no, I don't mean melodramatic.

I thought its length was perfect. Many 'important' movies believe they need more of your time to get their message across. I adore THE LAST EMPEROR, but the director's cut presently on DVD-- adding an hour to a three hour movie-- makes one appreciate brevity.

I think what you feel like is missing is that Clooney spends ZERO time showing Murrow's life outside of CBS. Any other movie would, to the tune of 20 minutes of film or better.

I believe it was avoided to not unfairly humanize Murrow in comparison to McCarthy.

Here's what I thought of the piece:

Movie goers don’t want subject matter. They want to ‘insulate’ themselves from reality and watch Harry Potter pull a Rabbi out of a hat. Or in recent years, cartoons. Can’t get enough of them. The idea of actual actors in a film is simply abhorrent, unless the actor is buried underneath a flashy comic book costume. Nothing can be real, for reality introduces responsibility, and in responsibility lies effort.

quote:

Good Night And Good Luck is the antidote. It’s so real, so colorless, so sedate– that it challenges the very fabric of today’s moviemaking. Where other movies constantly flash crap at you to keep you awake, Clooney’s film intentionally lull’s Generation ADD to sleep with lullaby’s provided by Dianne Reeves. Clooney won’t play to the Spiderman audience but instead demands they turn their hearts, souls, and brains on. Instead of dumping down, Clooney asks us to smarten up.

Full review here:

http://www.macliberals.com/wordpress/?p=363

I finally saw it this weekend, and I thought it was pretty good. My only complaints were the Robert Downey/Patricia Clarkson storyline, which others have commented on, and I also thought that for such a short film, a lot of time was wasted on musical montages.

I sort of liked that Clooney didn't litter the film with extra dramatic scenes though. In the spirit of Murrow, he just presented the facts and let them speak for themselves.

Overall, I think it's an important movie for today's news media climate. Strathairn definitely deserves an oscar nom for his performance.

There was something aridly dry about the movie. Plus the purpose and connection of Robert Downey Jr. and Patricia Clarkston to the movie seemed lost to me. Other than that, this movie was great, gritty, and emotionally challenging, a very cerebrally emotional experience for me.

i thought the film was fantastic, thankfully not trying to overexplain the motivations and actions of its subject--like far too many biopics do. i guess it's not a traditional biopic per se. but i thought it was a perfectly understated articulation of murrow's presience.