Graeme Robertson on why Good Night, and Good Luck. should have won Best Picture at the 78th Academy Awards…
The Oscars celebrating the best of 2005 are probably among the most controversial and divisive on record. For it was Paul Haggis’s race-based ensemble drama Crash that received the Best Picture trophy, beating the favourite to win Brokeback Mountain, and spending every minute since its win being repeatedly listed as among the worst films to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
Now why Brokeback Mountain lost to what some regard as a mediocre film, we don’t fully know, with some accusing the Academy of homophobia in their decision-making or bowing to pressures from conservative groups horrified by the idea that some cowboys might have been gay.
However, I would argue that while Brokeback Mountain was perhaps deserving of the win, I feel that it was not the only contender more deserving to receive the Best Picture trophy than Crash. For my money, the film that also deserved to be named as the Best Picture of 2005 was George Clooney’s historical news-based drama Good Night, and Good Luck.
Set in the 1950s at the height of the Red Scare led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, the film follows the efforts of TV news pioneer Edward R Murrow and his team to expose the controversial senator for leading what amounts to a witch hunt based on paranoia, innuendo and misinformation that is ruining the lives and careers of many innocent people.
The film’s ensemble cast is made up of terrific actors who all give terrific performances. We have Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella, Ray Wise and director George Clooney himself who all deliver fine turns as Murrow’s colleagues and superiors.
The film however, belongs to the severely underrated David Strathairn who delivers a phenomenal performance as Edward R. Murrow, perfectly mimicking the fearless newsman’s distinctive speech patterns and poses, calmly and with an authoritative conviction taking on the bullying nature of McCarthy.
The main draw for me with Good Night, and Good Luck. is its fact-based story, which is incredibly fascinating on its own and I’d recommend reading up on it for those interested in this period of American political and media history.
The film manages to perfectly capture the atmosphere and paranoia that gripped 1950s American society, with a ranting politician regularly accusing people of being traitors to their country because of political beliefs and afflictions that they might not even have. Clooney makes the wise decision not to cast an actor for the role of Joseph McCarthy nor does he reconstruct the Senate hearings which he chaired, instead relying entirely on archive footage of these moments so as to show the paranoid nature of his actions, with excerpts of speeches by him really showing him for the quintessential slimy politician he was.
The brilliant performances and story are complemented by Clooney’s decision to shoot the film in black and white with the cinematography, while relatively simple in its camera movements and placements, is gorgeous to look at, with the shadows and lighting combining to create some brilliant imagery. The gorgeous visual choice is perfectly complimented by the film’s beautiful Jazz soundtrack, performed by singer Diane Reeves backed up by a small band, who also appear in the film to provide musical interludes that allow the viewer to drink up the atmosphere and ease into the film’s world. It’s also just really good to listen to some nice Jazz music.
The core message of the film, at least what I get from it, is that it is the duty of journalists, whether they be TV journalists like Murrow or even in other mediums like print, to hold those who hold political office, as Senator McCarthy did, to account and challenge them when these elected officials go down a path that is not only questionable but also potentially dangerous for democracy. This message has become relevant at various points in time, particularly recently with the election of President Trump, who has a very hostile relationship with a media that regularly attempts to question and challenge and his actions, with him denouncing them as “fake news” and “enemies of the people”.
While you are free to disagree with my argument that Good Night, and Good Luck. should have been named as Best Picture of 2005, perhaps you agree with the general consensus that the award should have gone to Brokeback Mountain, or to one of the other film’s nominated, and I’d love to hear if you think this in the comments.
However, much like I argued when I talked about fellow news based film Network not long ago; it’s this modern relevance and timeliness that gives these films that extra edge and it’s why I think that Good Night, and Good Luck. should have been named as Best Picture for 2005.
Graeme Robertson
Originally published February 21, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
