“There’s no news, boys, so go out there and make some news. Rob a bank, mug an old lady.“
What’s it all about? “Good Night, and Good Luck”, George Clooney’s second directorial effort, focuses on the conflict between veteran television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Communist-wary 1950s.
Visually, this film is stunning. I’m a sucker for great cinematography, and “Good Night, and Good Luck” has it in spades. Black and white images of chain-smoking journalists in suits? You can count me in. It’s somewhat sickening how beautiful cigarette smoke is in film. At times “Good Night” relies too heavily on historical footage for narrative development. Yes, the film does benefit from its presence, as it explores the effects media and television has on the political sphere. But it does not need to document every intricacy of the court hearing of a woman who works in the Pentagon’s coat room. I don’t think I’d watch “Good Night” again, but I’d love to have screenshots from the film on my desktop. And I could listen to Dianne Reeves and her band all night long.
Favourite Scene: I enjoyed the quiet exchanges between Joseph (Downey, Jr.) and Shirley (Clarkson) throughout the film. But I do wish we were given a little more context with their relationship; I started turning the film into an action flick in the back of my head. I thought they were Communist sympathizers for a while and I half-expected them to hijack the television network.
Notes: Directed by George Clooney; Produced by Grant Heslov; Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov; Starring David Strathairn, George Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella, Jeff Daniels, Tate Donovan, Ray Wise; Cinematography by Robert Elswit; Editing by Stephen Mirrione.
Sasha James, otherwise known as The Final Girl Project, is a twenty-something Torontonian with an unhealthy amount of her week reserved for film and television. She also moonlights as The Doctor's companion on Saturdays. 
LOVE this movie! About a month back, I went so far as to call it the best of the decade. Check it out…
http://mcneilmatinee.blogspot.com/2010/01/decade-pt-xi-top-five-00s-movies-best.html
I picked “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” as my top choice. I see you have it as number two. I don’t think “Good Night, and Good Luck” could crack my Best of the Decade list. And I think I had over thirty films on that list.
But to each his own, am I right?