Good Night and Good Luck

Good Night and Good Luck works on a few different levels. As a period piece it is consistently interesting. Real footage of Joe McCarthy and his Senate hearings are injected seamlessly within to the film. Shot entirely in black and white, the film feels authentic. Good Night and Good Lucks also succeeds as an allegory to the potential perils of fear and hysteria, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand how these themes relate to our world today. Finally, the film also succeeds as an entertaining drama. Credit director George Clooney for turning a dialogue driven script about politics, journalism, and ethics into an intriguing, suspenseful film where the stakes actually feel high.

The movie is probably a little too preachy, but its message is pure: we should not abandon our principles and morals due to fear. It also touches on journalists and their ethical responsibilities, as well as the public’s duty to stay active in being informed. Watching the film I felt sorry for Murrow, preaching ethics and responsibility at the expense of profits, advertisers, and ratings. He reminded me of a young child, naively explaining how the world should work, oblivious to how it actually does.