The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I saw this last night at a tiny little theater just a minute's walk from my place. It was $5 for two movies but I skipped the first one (Pride and Prejudice). It occurs to me that paying $2.50 NOT to have to see a movie might be one of the more biting insults.

This movie is prefect. It does a great job of telling the story of the conflict between CBS's Edward R. Murrow and McCarthy, and lets the viewer draw the allegorical connections to current events themselves. The acting is fantastic, with Strathairn lending an arresting gravitas to every line. More surprising is that George Clooney's direction is perfect, with absolutely none of the over-indulgences that typically come from actor-directors. You'd never know that the man playing one of the main characters was also the director. There's no flashy editing, no distracting cinematography, and every scene is exactly how long it needs to be (all three unlike the only other film Clooney has directed, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind). There's no score, either. It's black and white without being gimmicky (ala Ed Wood). In fact, I'd say the technique is very functional: when CBS footage from the 1950s is used it fits very well with the rest of the movie. I know, everything about this probably sounds boring on paper, but I was absolutely riveted throughout.

A+. This is the best movie I've seen all year, and not just because it's only January 7th.

Thanks for the recommendation puce! Every bit of what he said and much more. A+

I realized after reading your review that I heard an NPR interview with George Clooney the other day, although I missed the intro where they must've talked about this movie. They were speaking generally about politics and persecution and the role of the media and the whole discussion was more engaging than almost any interview I've seen recently - including politicians but definitely for a celebrity interview.

After seeing the movie I'm speechless. I just have one comment to add to this:

The monologues were so amazingly relevant and the stage set so currently made me feel like Edward R. Murrow was trying to guide us from beyond. The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.

Damn straight.

We played this at the theater I work at for awhile, and I kept popping in and watching five-minute snippets. The acting is really first-rate, probably the best I can remember from last year. And the B&W cinematography is stunning, with all that smoke curling around the edges. Smoking sure looks glamorous! My only beef is that no one, aside from David Straithairn (or whatever) and Clooney has anything to do. Patricia Clarkson and Robert Downey Jr. are almost completely wasted. It's a minor beef, though. A