Lights and wires in a box

This weekend I saw Good Night, and Good Luck, which, if you don't know, chronicles CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow as he takes on Senator Joseph McCarthy and his witch hunts against alleged communists. The story represents an important moment in journalism, when some news people decided that revealing the truth about the government was not necessarily a bad thing, and that revealing the truth does not equal editorializing.

George Clooney directed this movie and co-wrote the screenplay, and my respect for him has skyrocketed, though I have always been a fan. Not only has Clooney chosen an important and timely story to tell, but he tells it in a beautiful, poetic way. His choice of camera shots, his decision to use black and white, and his casting of David Strathairn (who will be nominated for an Oscar) all show that he is an artist and filmmaker of the first rate. His best directing choice is to use only actual archival footage of McCarthy rather than casting an actor to play him. This way, we can see the real flaws in a deeply flawed man.


The story reveals truths about our history and about the current state of television that are important and relevant. As Murrow says at the end of the movie, "the new medium of television had the potential to educate, illuminate and inspire." However, Murrow says, "it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it is merely lights and wires in a box."

Here in late November, I am making an early prediction: George Clooney will win the Oscar for Best Direction.


And now I am even more excited for Syriana.