David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Frank Langella, Ray Wise, Robert John Burke, Reed Diamond, Tate Donovan, Grant Heslov, Tom McCarthy, Matt Ross, Rose Abdoo, Alex Borstein, Peter Jacobson, Robert Knepper, Dianne Reeves, Peter Martin, Christoph Luty
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, austere newsroom drama that turns a historical confrontation into a crisp argument for journalistic courage. It’s especially rewarding if you like black-and-white period pieces, procedural dialogue, and films that value restraint over melodrama.
Best for
viewers interested in media ethics and political history
fans of black-and-white period dramas
people who enjoy talk-driven, tightly controlled filmmaking
audiences drawn to sober, adult-minded historical dramas
Skip if
you want high suspense or big emotional swings
you prefer fast-paced, plot-heavy thrillers
you’re impatient with didactic or self-consciously serious films
you dislike movies that feel more like a civic statement than a personal drama
Overview
Good Night, and Good Luck. is a sleek, disciplined historical drama that treats newsroom professionalism as a moral stance. George Clooney keeps the film lean and composed, letting the period detail, smoky black-and-white imagery, and clipped exchanges do most of the work. The result feels less like a conventional biopic than a carefully mounted broadcast from a moment when public speech still seemed to matter in a tangible way.
Worth noting
The film’s strength is its confidence in tone: measured, elegant, and just a little severe. David Strathairn gives Murrow a cool intelligence that never tips into speechifying, and the ensemble helps sell the sense of a workplace under pressure. At the same time, the movie can feel more admirable than emotionally engulfing; its arguments are clear, but its dramatic engine is deliberately restrained.
Bottom line
For viewers who respond to craftsmanship, civic-minded storytelling, and the romance of old-school journalism, it lands very well. If you want a more propulsive or psychologically messy political drama, it may feel a bit too polished and thesis-driven. Still, as a portrait of media integrity under threat, it remains sharp and timely without needing to shout.
Top Letterboxd reviews
lauren (3★) · 616 likes
joseph mccarthy was a little bitch
Will Sloan · 488 likes
A really well-oiled piece of machinery, beautifully shot by Robert Elswit, great acting all around, etc. Everyone should be very proud of themselves. That said, an impossible movie for me to enjoy after the ensuing decades of Keith Olbermann and Trump-era "journalism/the facts will save us" shit. This movie is also a dispiriting illustration of how in the American liberal imagination, the main problem with the Red Scare is that it targeted people who weren't Communists.
In his final monologue,… more
Eric (4.5★) · 359 likes
Cigarette smoke in black and white films is the coolest thing ever.
DrStrange110 (4★) · 299 likes
You watch movies like this, The Post, Spotlight, etc and be like "fuck it imma be a journalist" and then you remember you wanna study chemistry so you could cook meth so you lay off journalism unfortunately
SilentDawn (4★) · 280 likes
Good Night, and Good Luck, directed by George Clooney, is a class act from start to finish. Robert Elswit's scrumptious cinematography provides the allure for a film that otherwise might bore some, especially since the screenplay gets straight to the point, causing the film to be completely devoid of heightened tension. Clooney takes a layered and matter of fact route with this iconic story of Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy, using a cracking script and a massive cast list… more Good Night, and Good Luck, directed by George Clooney, is a class act from start to finish. Robert Elswit's scrumptious cinematography provides the allure for a film that otherwise might bore some, especially since the screenplay gets straight to the point, causing the film to be completely devoid of heightened tension. Clooney takes a layered and matter of fact route with this iconic story of Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy, using a cracking script and a massive cast list… more
2020 · Drama, History · 2h 10m · R · Curator 6.9/10 (630.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Shares the courtroom-and-civic-pressure energy of principled resistance under scrutiny.
Topics
historical drama, political drama, newsroom, black and white, period piece, anti-communism, civic responsibility, mid-century America, dialogue-driven, prestige drama