dtb Review of Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass (2003)

The Riveting True Story of a Weasel in Sheep's Clothing

[10/10 · 10 June 2010]

Between STAR WARS movies, Hayden Christensen played master weasel-in-sheep's-clothing Stephen Glass, the young journalist whose star was rising high at THE NEW REPUBLIC (as well as GEORGE and ROLLING STONE, among others) in the 1990s until it was discovered that he'd made up many of the people and events portrayed in his articles. (As others in the film point out, the fact that THE NEW REPUBLIC didn't use photographs in its articles made it easier for Glass to make up characters from whole cloth.) Christensen often comes across as a whiner in his film roles even when he's playing a good guy, so in my opinion he was perfect casting as Glass, a young man so adept at manipulating, lying, and making people feel sorry for him that I felt like smacking him even before his true colors became clear to his increasingly frustrated, outraged editor Chuck Lane, played by Peter Sarsgaard in a justifiably Golden Globe-nominated performance. Sarsgaard's slow burns in his scenes with Christensen are worth the price of admission by themselves, especially in scenes where Glass (and an accomplice) pester Chuck at home when he's trying to have quality time with his wife and baby. My husband Vinnie hated Glass even more than I did, but then Vin just can't stand Christensen on general principle. :-) Kudos all around to writer/director Billy Ray and a great cast, including memorable turns by Steve Zahn and Rosario Dawson as the FORBES ONLINE reporters who initially uncover Glass's fabrications; and Chloe Sevigny, Hank Azaria, and our household fave Melanie Lynskey as the NEW REPUBLIC staffers fooled into trusting and sticking up for Glass. If you have fond memories of the ALIEN NATION TV series, don't blink or you'll miss Michele Scarabelli as the mother of a young hacker who also turns out to be a figment of Glass's journalistic imagination. Ironically, after Glass was finally fired from THE NEW REPUBLIC, he later wrote a novel, THE FABULIST, about a young reporter who fabricated his articles. It was met with disdain; critics found the book self-serving. Grade: A+