George Clooney's new flick
Good Night, and Good Luck might have been shot in black and white but it's far from being dreary. The film, which chronicles the tussle between Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy and CBS-TV reporter Edward R Murrow, opens at the 43rd New York Film Festival tonight.
Written and directed by George Clooney, the film revolves around the true-life incident of Murrow's airing of a controversial documentary in 1954. Murrow (played by David Strathairn) decides to air the documentary about a Navy pilot Milo Radulovich, who has been discharged as a security risk and has been accused of having communist leanings.
But the incident is shrouded in mystery and Murrow is convinced Senator McCarthy is behind the episode. The commentary, while avoiding the mention of McCarthy, takes enough digs at him to invite his ire.
McCarthy then sets his goons to dig out Murrow and his colleague Don Hollenbeck's (Ray Wise) past. The two newscasters find support in Fred Friendly (George Clooney), Murrow's co-producer on the series.
The best part about the film is that the role of Joseph McCarthy has been played by none other than…Joseph McCarthy! Clooney has successfully blended archived footages of McCarthy's bellowing in the Senate and weaved his appearances on TV shows with the newly shot parts.
The 90-minute film takes a very close look at media politics, which is not obsolete in this day and age of press freedom too. Murrow's bosses at CBS, especially William Paley (Frank Langella), are not very happy when sponsors start pulling out and politicians threaten to make life miserable for CBS after the episodes are aired. One is sharply reminded of the
Newsweek episode as also the criticism of President Bush in wake of Iraq War and the Hurricane Katrina fiasco, while wondering how much truth had been 'edited' out. Clooney's upbringing is a newsman's son is very clear in his handling of the story.
Talking about the film, Clooney had earlier said in an interview, “Growing up as the son of a newsman, I found it was the reporters who always wanted to run those stories which asked the tough questions. They always wanted to go at the President – but it was their bosses who stopped them, saying that they didn't want to lose future access. But I believe that there is responsibility in terms of news, because power unchecked and unchallenged always corrupts.”
The fact that CBS's current head Les Moonves is Clooney's close friend helped the director understand the dilemma that faces corporate bosses. “I don't envy his position, because he has to go back to shareholders and tell them that they're not going to make as much money from the news as they could. It's a constant battle between entertainment and news,” Clooney said.
Coming back to the film, it hits hard and right there. The performances are par excellence too, notwithstanding the fact that McCarthy's performance is real.
If
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind showed that Clooney had potential as a director,
Good Night, and Good Luck has firmly established the actor's credentials as a director. Maybe it's time he hung up his makeup kit to get behind the camera. And stay there.
