Monday Movie: Good Night, And Good Luck

It's the fifties, and Senator McCarthy is conducting a witch hunt against Americans he suspects of being 'card carrying' communists. Anyone who criticises him risks being accused themselves. But following on from a tangential story, incisive newsman Edward R. Murrow decides to tackle McCarthy head-on, even as his bosses warn him that they can get better ratings in much less risky ways.

George Clooney's second film as director is a far more sedate work than his energetic debut, with snappy banter and gorgeous black-and-white cinematography. Good Night, And Good Luck does little to explore the emotions of its characters or to try and provoke outrage - instead it's more of an urbane civics lesson, presenting Murrow's views on American discourse in his own eloquent words.