Review | Good Night, and Good Luck, actor-director George Clooney's look at US' McCarthy era

Actor-cum-director George Clooney has long played the Hollywood game - and has long told the public exactly what he's all about. He takes the pay cheques from blockbusters of the Ocean's 11 ilk, so he can make the smaller projects he's more interested in.

So, perhaps we can thank Batman for Good Night, and Good Luck.

Clooney's second stint in the director's chair - after 2002's Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - is an assured production, shorn of any excess. And it gets straight down to telling its story.

The focus is on American broadcaster Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) and his role in the downfall of right-wing communist-chaser Senator Joseph McCarthy during the purges of the 1950s. What makes the film work is the low-key approach taken by Clooney, who also plays Murrow's boss, CBS news chief Fred Friendly.

Shot in languid black and white by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Robert Elswit (Boogie Nights, Magnolia), the film intercuts archival footage of McCarthy and his senate committee hearings with the gentle role- playing in Murrow's newsroom - taken as a reflection of what was happening in society at the time. McCarthy caused people to look over their shoulders, questioning friendships and loyalties, and we see that as Murrow's team go about their daily duties.

It's a gripping experience, made even stronger by the presence of Oscar-nominated Strathairn, who plays Murrow as a resolute, principled man.