Newsfront

The difficulty with a film like "Newsfront" is how it tends to have the same approach to its characters as the characters have to themselves. Which is to say, a lot of emotional distance. The film is especially well directed, but it never really becomes the sum of all its parts. The best bits revolve around the newsroom stuff, so that the relationships seem rather unimportant by comparison. A much more recent film, "Good Night and Good Luck" is more balanced and intense in this respect.

Vincent Monton's cinematography is particularly good (He would work with Noyce 4 years later again on "Heatwave"). This is a film that's always fun to look at. The black & white is crisp and clean and the colour footage is warm and vibrant. But, in the end, it's like a pretty picture postcard. Fun to watch, but just too hard to get into.