Good Night and Good Luck Review

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK is a modern black and white film set in 1950's America when Communist beliefs were considered a crime of being un-American. This film offers the true story of the predicaments the CBS Television Station encountered when Senator Joseph McCarthy accused some of their staff of committing anti-American acts. At this time it was very dangerous for a respected news station to break their unbiasedness and shares their notions of the political problems occurring at the time. A very public predicament develops between CBS and McCarthy, who responds by accusing the show host and workers at the station of being communist. This political war, caused by censures, advances throughout the whole film with more accusations and altercations. A forbidden marriage, a tragic suicide and a stand against the government are major occurrences in the film. The film has a clear message; stand up for what you believe in especially if it means saving someone else too.

This is one of the only modern films that has managed to make a black and white colouring look realistic and acceptable to the era they are trying to portray. Another reason why the monochrome is successful is because the film includes original footage of the ruthless and devious speeches and court hearings made by Senator Joseph McCarthy (which are in black and white). The atmosphere is authentic because of the constant subtle sound of a female jazz singers voice singing mellow blues. The audiences vision is constantly obscured by the storm of smoke hanging around the rooms. The accents were believable just like the persuasive costumes. So much concentration is on the costumes, props and set that i found that the small-role characters were lacking an empathy or inspiration. The speeches, although emotional, took up a large proportion of the film. This is definitely a film about language not action.

This time in history is commonly compared to the Arthur Miller play, The Crucible. They both include a lead character that everyone is scared of and believes will always have the right answer. This character accuses people of serious crimes if they disagree with them. If you enjoy films that are more concentrated on history and emotions rather than big moments and thrilling scenes that this is for you. Not a lot happens but the concentration is on the inspirational speeches that altered peoples opinions at the time.

2 and a half out of 5