Good Night, and Good Luck (2025) * * *

 

(Broadway play broadcast live on CNN)

Directed by: David Cromer

Starring:  George Clooney, Ilana Glazer, Clark Gregg, Glenn Fleshler, Carter Hudson, Mac Brandt

Good Night, and Good Luck movie in 2005 chronicled Edward R. Murrow's crusade to confront McCarthyism and eventually bring it down.  It was very good, with allusions to modern-day issues involving the media and its role in the Iraq War.  Murrow (David Strathairn) was a steady, unflappable Murrow who risked CBS' standing and profits by taking on Senator Joe McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee which was attempted to "root out Communism".  The movie, directed by George Clooney, was effective and engrossing in many ways. 

The Broadway play, written by Clooney and Heslov and starring Clooney as Murrow, resonates differently through all of its business.  Good Night, and Good Luck captures the infancy of television and the smoke-filled newsroom and conference rooms where Murrow runs his weekly news show.  At the time, the news division was considered a separate entity at CBS because of its public good, but those days are long gone.  Good Night, and Good Luck showcases how the financial aspects of the business were encroaching on the news.  CBS head William Paley doesn't exactly tell Murrow to back off, but hints at it, which Murrow does not abide.  

Clooney played Fred Friendly in the film version, but now has evolved into Murrow with his usual authority and authenticity.  Friendly is played by Glenn Fleshler, who played Axe's lawyer on Billions, and runs a tight ship.  Two other major characters are Joe and Shirley Wershba (Hudson and Glazer) who are secretly married, but do not divulge this because their marriage violates CBS policy.  They are not communists, but they are forced to keep secrets for fear of losing their jobs, which is what any person brought in front of McCarthy also fears. 

The movie version is less busy than the stage version, mostly because the film medium has more time and room to be expansive, while the Broadway show has more moving parts production-wise.  However, the show creatively includes those and footage of Joe McCarthy burying himself with his own words.  The opening and closing monologue by Murrow discusses the need for a free press and footage of historical stories displayed on screen, some of which occurred after Murrow's death.   However, the public's perception of the media has changed in the past twenty years.  It is not as trusted as it once was according to recent polls.   "Legacy media", as it called on the right, is accused of presenting the news with bias.  Anyone who watches objectively will find it hard to disagree.