George Clooney, it seems, is a man who can do no wrong – at least not in the eyes of Hollywood's great and good. And even with his latest two releases taking significant swipes at the US government – the upcoming Syriana and this, his second film as director – he is courted with award nominations. Come 5 th March, Good Night and Good Luck will be up for six Oscars and six BAFTA's, including Best Film and Best Director.

The film tells the true story of renowned journalist and broadcaster Edward G. Morrow's run-in with notorious Senator Joe McCarthy and his House Un-American Activities Committee on the CBS current affairs show ‘See it Now'. An intense, claustropobic film shot in sharp black and white, the film has all the markings of a taught, intelligent drama but for its lack of the key essential ingredient: a sense of drama.

Murrow (Strathairn) is a man with strong principles and a passionate belief in the power of television: this is apparent from the film's opening, when Murrow addresses fellow journalists and television big-men, admonishing them for their failure to adequately exploit its potential to educate, rather than just to “entertain, amuse and insulate”. It's these principles, rather than any overt political views, which lead him to take on the chief of the great Communist witch-hunt that defined 50's America. Working amidst an environment of tension and paranoia, in which even his closest associates are not safe, Morrow and his producer Fred Friendly (Clooney) run a story about a navy pilot fired for being a ‘security risk' without a trial or indeed any disclosed evidence. The consequent battle with McCarthy leads to victory – but at a price.

Strathairn is magnificent in the role, thoroughly deserving his Oscar nomination. His quiet strength and dry quips call to mind the last good men of classic Hollywood films from the era. If Clooney has been compared to Clark Gable, then could Strathairn be a modern Bogart or Henry Fonda? The supporting cast is also admirable, even if their characters have little in the way of journey. Downey Jr. is a pleasure as always, but underused, as is Patricia Clarkson, though producer and co-writer Grant Heslov makes an impact as Don Hewitt, the reporter singled out for attack by right-wing pundits in the film's tragic subplot.

This is Clooney's second successful foray as a director. Says Clooney, “this incident and time has been a passion of mine because it is one of the few times you could point to where broadcast journalism has actually changed the world and peoples minds. McCarthy was untouchable until Murrow stepped up. It was one of those great moments where you really had to be brave.”

There are echoes with contemporary America in the war against terror, but also with contemporary television. In an age where entertainment seems to have claimed an unwavering victory over education, to the point where people try to convince us that Celebrity Big Brother has something interesting to say about human nature, it's a poignant parallel.

Filmed with shallow focus and almost exclusively in boxy interiors with overlapping and sometimes improvised dialogue, the film attempts to recreate the atmosphere of early television journalism as well as the wider social context of McCarthy-era America. The film also opts to portray McCarthy through archive footage rather by an actor, which certainly gives it a journalistic bent. However, the climax to which the film is building – the confrontation between Morrow and McCarthy – is lacking in tension. We are told several times that this is a momentous event, yet somehow it just doesn't feel like it. For a film with so much class, and so much potential, it seemed to warrant a little more drama.