"Good Night, Good Luck"....Good Movie!

My husband and I treated ourselves to a movie and dinner last Saturday night. We so enjoyed the movie that I thought that I would write a review. I feel that the film we saw is both timely and very important.

I recommend that you see "Good Night, Good Luck" as it is well worth every penny. The film is done entirely in black and white which seemed to me to add levels of depth to a very serious subject. Visually, it was a real treat to view a black and white film on the big screen.

"Good Night, Good Luck", written and directed by George Clooney, takes us back to the witch hunts and black lists of the 1950's. Led by American Fascist, Senator Joe McCarthy, the "American Inquisition" was a direct threat to any citizen who did not agreed with Senator McCarthy and the thugs who followed him.

Edward R. Murrow, the journalist who used his television broadcast to expose Senator McCarthy and end his reign of terror, is the hero of this riveting film. We have no television journalists today of Mr. Murrow's caliber. If anything, see this movie to educate yourself on what a journalist should be. Network news programs today, with their stables of Barbie and Ken dulls, should hang their collective heads in shame.

I was amazed that this film didn't waste its time on car chases. There was not a gun to be seen. The characters were developed enough and the dialogue so well written that the word "FUCK" was not needed for emphasis. What kind of a movie can be made with no speeding cars, no fist fights, no guns and no F-word? A Good one!

This movie is thought provoking. It offers a glimpse back into a time when fascism failed in America because someone like Murrow was there to stand up and ask real questions. Young people in particular need to see this film. Being a responsible citizen in a free country requires much more than cheerleading and putting flag magnets on one's SUV. Patriotism requires reading and thinking, discussion, disagreement, and asking intelligent questions of, and demanding answers from elected officials. Edward R. Murrow was up to the task in his time. How many are brave enough or smart enough to do what he did, today?

Real footage of Sen. McCarthy was used in this film. Edward R. Murrow's stirring words are eloquently returned to life by actor David Straithairn and are once again profound. The 1950's sets were fun for my husband and I to revisit. We were both children during that time. Equally enjoyable was the background of smokey jazz which featured singer Diana Reeves, Matt Catingub on sax, and pianist Peter Martin. I, for one, plan to purchase the soundtrack as well as the dvd.

"Good Night, Good Luck"
A good story, a real good movie!.....
.........Kitchen Window Woman........