gromit-14

Clooney has certainly shot a beautiful film - black and white, great details evoking what I imagine the 1950's television industry was like. The performances are all good. However, I can't help feeling that critics are raving about the film simply because its subject matter (McCarthyism and the way the media handled it) also speaks to us now with similar concerns that many Americans have with the Bush Administration and the way the media has/has not been handling it. I get a sense from the film and many reviewers that they wish an Edward R. Murrow and a courageous broadcaster would appear like a knight in shining armour to skewer the current administration and expose it for what it is, and that they feel this film is an artistic call to arms. I don't feel that the film's topicality is sufficient to make it a "brilliant" film that everyone should see.

I felt there was no narrative tension ... perhaps this is because we know so much about McCarthyism. Certainly there were a few scenes when I wondered if CBS would support Murrow & Friendly, but everything seemed inevitable: "the good" (Murrow) standing up against the evil (McCarthy). Yawn!

I thought this movie was quite enjoyable. It's a bit like a female version of Ferris Bueller, without the destructive male testosterone (the worst thing the girls can expect if caught is not to be able to go on a trip to Hawaii with the family). Even though everything is predictable (the dorky guys who save the day ... more than once, the popular girl getting her comeuppance, the "fat" girl learning to love herself, etc.) you don't seem to mind because the characters are well-developed and so, well, likable. It's not going to challenge you to use your brain much, but for a few hours of fun, this isn't bad. Will appeal especially to pre-teen and teen girls.

I watch a lot films, particularly independent and art house movies, but I'm afraid I cannot fathom why this film is considered brilliant. Everyone walks around in a bit of a stupor, emotionally stunted and not really connecting with each other. It is slow and boring, and I never developed any emotional connection with any of the characters. I simply did not care what happened to them. Everyone gets their moment when they speechify to a (usually younger) character about life, love and the meaning of the universe. I really hate that kind of "set-speech" moment. It's like a glaring spotlight on the character, that is unnatural and annoying. Then again, I didn't like "Diner" either. The cinematography is nice, but beyond that I find the laudatory praise for this film baffling.