Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Journalist Edward R. Murrow goes on a witch hunt against Senator Joseph McCarthy, and for decent reason: McCarthy's hysterical "red scare" tactics in Washington are trickling into the greater American experience. Mere accusations of Communist sympathy are suddenly enough to ruin careers, marriages, lives. Murrow takes the high ground, using McCarthy's tactics against the man himself. But will his own career survive when the inquisition inevitably boomerangs back to him? George Clooney's history-as-allegory is suitably presented in black and white, as that's the way he's shaded the story. This is not a biopic, not a film focused on subtlety of character; it is very cleanly fictionalized events washed in appropriate sociopolitical philosophy, and presented with documentary aplomb. The principals are conduits for their belief systems, but the fine performances keep the proceedings from being a simple lesson in civics -- as in the tiny moment when Murrow (David Strathairn) completes a vacuous interview with Liberace: the On Air light dims and Murrow's smile implodes, exposing his professional dyspepsia at having to stoop so low. The radical idea that reporting should not necessarily pretend to be non-biased, especially in self-evident cases of injustice and democratic crisis, is played well against the more commercial notion of simply giving the people what they want: sheer entertainment. What good is a light in a box if it doesn't provide some warmth?

6 comments:

  1. As my ex-girlfriend, Ann Coulter, has always said, "Little Joe didn't hurt no one. They was just trying to set him up, like, and make him look bad, is all."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello, My Dearest Friends Super class independent Escorts Services available incall & outcall
    service in VIP hotels.and call girls available for booking 24x7 hours IF You
    want Physical Relationship any time contact me & ?meet with me to get my
    number from website and call
    Thank You & Visit Again""_____
    Guwahati Call Girls
    Call Girls in Guwahati

    ReplyDelete
  3. Explore the profiles of guwahati escorts, guwahati call girls, call girls in guwahati and
    escorts in guwahati for female companionship in top rated hotels. Get affordable
    escort services in guwahati hotels now.Nitu Roy is a popular and
    trusted name in the field of call girl service.
    Guwahati Call Girl
    Call Girl in Guwahati

    ReplyDelete
  4. Explore the profiles of guwahati escorts, guwahati call girls, call girls in guwahati and
    escorts in guwahati for female companionship in top rated hotels.
    Get affordable escort services in guwahati hotels now.
    Guwahati call girls
    Call girls in Guwahati

    ReplyDelete
  5. If you are frustrated in your life and looking for some changes, then it's high time.Make a plan and travel to Guwahati escort
    and choose here Guwahati call girl service. It will remove your tension from life and make your life smooth.
    Assamese call girls in Guwahati
    College escorts in Guwahati
    Housewife escorts in Guwahati
    Nepali escorts in Guwahati
    Escort services in Guwahati

    ReplyDelete