Documentary Style Enhances Good Night and Good Luck

After attending the screening with me for George Clooney's new film Good Night and Good Luck, my mother-in-law asked "do you consider that a documentary?" 

At first I was taken aback. Although the film is about the conflict between real life historical figures, journalist extraordinaire Edward R. Murrow, and Senator Joseph McCarthy, clearly these roles are played by actors and a dramatic script was written, so no, it is not a documentary. And yet her question brought to light some interesting qualities of Clooney's film.

Most obviously, Clooney, who directed and co-wrote the film, has chosen to tell this film in a style which mimics the direct cinema techniques many documentaries utilized in the late 1950s and 1960s. The camera is often hand-held, following the action, quickly panning this way and that, shot in black and white, and appearing to capture reality as it happens. So blurry is the line between fiction and nonfiction, in fact, that Sen. McCarthy is actually played by himself, via digitally restored clips of him.

Beyond this, it also has a dramatic structure that is similar to a documentary's. Tacked on love stories and contrivances about the key men's personal lives are not a part of this Hollywood film, thankfully. (Although there is a totally superfluous romantic subplot involving reporter Joe Wershba, played by Robert Downey, Jr.) We don't get our drama from deep character development. Our empathy builds, but in a more organic, less obvious way, by paying attention to the actual, real drama of the situation and by believing in the impeccable performances Clooney captured here.

The film begins with Murrow (David Strathairn) reflecting on broadcast journalism in a 1958 ceremony honoring his achievements. This part is beautifully shot, with a subtle sound design that feels nostalgic and joyful. But we are quickly transported back in time to the height of the Red Scare in America, circa 1953. Sen. McCarthy is holding hearings in the Senate, blindly charging people with "un-American" activities and Communist affiliations.