3 of 3

Clooney gets fine performances from an all-star cast, including Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels, Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), and the radiant Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April, The Station Agent). He does some solid acting himself. But make no mistake: the movie belongs to David Strathairn, who delivers an intense and riveting performance as Murrow himself, the newsman who set new standards for journalistic integrity.

Of course, any film of this nature begs the question: Is it entirely accurate to history? You'll find different opinions The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Slate. But as thought-provoking entertainment, it's firing on all cynlinders, inspiring us to be vigilant, to seek out the truth of a matter, and not to merely accept what authority figures tell us.

Of course, any film of this nature begs the question: Is it entirely accurate to history? You'll find different opinions in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Slate. But as thought-provoking entertainment, it's firing on all cylinders, inspiring us to be vigilant, to seek out the truth of a matter, and not to merely accept what authority figures tell us.

Ulstein says the film "will be particularly interesting to the politically and historically sophisticated, but anyone with a basic knowledge of the McCarthy era should be able to follow it. Those in positions of leadership in churches and other ministries will see it as a cautionary tale: Don't let anyone else do your thinking for you. The truth is the thing. Cherish it and defend it."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says the movie "should educate a new generation about how [Murrow] … bravely took on [McCarthy's] witch-hunting tactics. … Clooney's tribute to a TV golden-age legend is well deserved, especially in this age of superficial, sound-bite reporting."

"The subject matter is interesting and the message quite pointed," agrees Chris Monroe (Christian Spotlight). But he concludes that "overall the film was not entirely captivating."

Mainstream critics are raving about the film, saying that Strathairn might be on his way to an Oscar nomination.

Bruce Edward Walker (World) says, "Clooney has taken the microphone and used it as a bully pulpit to invigorate today's journalists to 'fight the good fight'—or at least to challenge the authority of a contemporary government Clooney obviously distrusts. If Murrow can bring down the Junior Senator from Wisconsin in the 1950s hubbub over communism, Clooney seems to imply, certainly someone from today's Fourth Estate can bring down neoconservatives bent on expending American blood for Iraqi oil. Journalistic objectivity and integrity be damned."

I've posted my full review at Looking Closer. I was impressed by Clooney's technical achievement as a director, and David Strathairn's lead performance as Edward R. Murrow is very impressive. But Clooney, in his zeal to portray the politicians as liars and Murrow as a saint, misrepresented what really happened in several cases, and this tarnishes his integrity and weakens his message, which is, of course, about telling the truth.

Andrew Coffin (World) says it's "not a bad movie, but it is most certainly bad history. Mr. Clooney's exercise in hero worship … was clearly devised not as a history lesson but as a modern parable to indict a variety of favored targets of the left."

But J. Robert Parks (Phantom Tollbooth) sees things quite differently. "Good Night, and Good Luck is a film that resonates so strongly that it's difficult to judge in its own time … We might not know the full impact or quality of Clooney's film for several years. I do know, though, that it is staggeringly relevant and one of the most important films of the year."

Josh Hurst (Reveal) says, "But it's all empty glitz and razzle-dazzle, because it's all in service of a severely biased, deceitful film. And the only thing worse than a deceitful film is a deceitful film that claims to be telling the truth. Clooney's movie belongs in this pile, I'm afraid … a brilliant piece of cinema that obscures the light of the truth with too much shadowy journalism."

first page |  3 of 3