Shattered Glass

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Look at the Fabricated 'News': A Must to See
Review: You may not find it shocking when the ace writer for The New Republic, one of the country's prestigious magazines, was actually writing a series of falsehoods, and none of them was detected by the editor, or fact checkers, of the company. Similar cases have been reported before that. So far, 'Shattered Glass' is offering nothing new.

But the film deals with the case in such an intelligent way that you will be drawn to the hectic world of jounalism depicted here. Hayden Christensen ('Episode II') plays the real-life writer Stephen Glass, whose very interesting reports (all 27 in number) on The New Republic magazine turned out fabricated -- all or partially.

The film is not about why or how he did it. It is about how one editor Charles Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) finds the truths behind the writings, after the writer of Forbes online Magazine Adam Penenberg (Steve Zahn) realizes one strange thing about Stephen Glass's amusing (and amazing) story about one computer wizard kid.

The actors are perfect; besides Christensen, Sarsgaard, and Zahn (who is in a serious mode), the film features Hank Azaria, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Linsky, and Chloe Sevigny. Though Christensen is at his best, Sarsgaad and Sevigny are real standout, as one who suspects Glass's fabrications, and one who tries to protect (only psychologically) from him.

Shot in a pretty orthodox method, 'Shattered Glass' not only uncovers the scandal but shows how certain people are misunderstood for what they are not, and reveals quite convincingly how people would act under the extreme mental pressure. The film is not a preachy tract on the media; it is more like a study on humans, and is a great success. Rivetting and intriguing for all the people who like reading ... and watching good 'stories.'

Rating:
Summary: Ethically Bankrupt Glass Overshadowed by Conscientious Lane
Review: Directed and written by first-timer Billy Ray, this is a surprisingly effective character study told from the outside, as the protagonist remains a cipher throughout the story. In the central role, Hayden Christensen portrays journalist Stephen Glass, a writer for the Washington D.C.-based current events magazine, The New Republic, a publication whose staff is largely comprised of people under the age of thirty. As with any movie about the press from "The Front Page" to "All the President's Men", the need to get the best story first has always been key to the plot since it's an inherent part of the news business. But this time out, the journalist violates the cardinal rule of crossing into fiction with 27 of 41 stories he wrote for the magazine over two years, an unforgivable breach that throws the integrity of the news business out the window.

The first half of the film focuses on Glass, a protégé of the magazine's late editor, Michael Kelly, and as such, an ambitious toady who insinuates himself into news staff with his imagination and talent. He effortlessly woos his co-workers with exhilarating story pitches delivered at staff meetings, so well positioned is he that his fabricated stories get past the magazine's fact checkers with ease. But from the get-go, there is something one cannot trust or respect about Glass, and Christensen is effective in showing these unattractive layers by emphasizing the juvenile, "like-me" behavior. After the beloved Kelly gets fired and unpopular new editor Chuck Lane takes over, Glass' world really begins to unravel when Adam Penenberg, a writer for the online magazine Forbes Digital, catches wind of Glass' story entitled "Hack Heaven," allegedly about a teenage computer hacker who manages to strike a lucrative deal working for a software company that he had attacked. When Penenberg begins to unravel the untruths, the pressure comes down hard and heavy on Glass, and this is where Ray's outside view of Glass proves invaluable since the perspective of the film switches to Lane in the second half. Clearly conflicted about Glass, Lane seeks the truth unabated with the clear mission to uphold the reputation of The New Republic. A subtle actor of precise technique, Peter Sarsgaard easily gives the film's best performance as Lane. There's an intensity that builds so believably, but is skillfully contained, especially in scenes when he's asked to unleash his anger and frustration. As he proves subsequently in "Kinsey", Sarsgaard has a constant aura of wariness that suits this role as well. The film shows Lane both at home and at work, and portrays him as a man who takes both duties seriously. Recognizable actors fill out the rest of the cast fitfully - an almost sedate Steve Zahn as Penenberg, a rather sanctimonious Hank Azaria as Kelly, a comparatively low-key Chloë Sevigny as a fact checker at the magazine.

Most importantly, this movie shows the truth can be harder to obtain than most would imagine. With more information options available than ever, the importance of questioning one's sources can never be overstated. I have to say that the movie does veer sometimes into TV-movie-style twists and turns, which prevents it from resonating more thoroughly, but for a first-time directorial effort, Ray does a fine job conveying his message of compromised ethics and their ramifications on a free press. The DVD includes an intriguing "60 Minutes" interview with the real Glass, and the film is backed by a commentary track from Ray and the real Lane.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie!
Review: "Shattered Glass" is a really good movie that is based on the true story of Stephen Glass (played by Hayden Christiansen), a talented young journalist working at the New Republic who begins fabricating his stories. Christiansen gives a great performance and his character is very likeable, which is why his coworkers are quick to jump to his defense, even when his lies bubble to the surface. The only think that confused me about this movie at first was that it was a bit unclear what scenes were occurring in "present tense," since there are so many flashbacks. However, the director's intention was to have the audience wondering about which flashbacks were actually real and which ones were based on Stephen's fabrications, and that was very effective.

Rating:
Summary: Strong story reliably told about real world issues
Review: Here is a strong tale about the pressures journalists live under in the real world, and a morality tale about one journalist that could not stand up to the pressure. This should not be seen as an individual tale or failure as similar events occurred in recent years at the august New York Times, when an intern published invented stories, and at CBS News, when reporter Terry Drinkwater invented stories that were broadcast.

Still, this is an important story about what regularly goes wrong in the real world of political journalism, where the difference between fantasy and reality is often a hair's width.

This is a good film but not a great one. The acting is not very good, to be honest. There are no big stars and the production values are poor. The story is powerful and well-told but there is little else to distinguish this film.

Still, if you want to escape the Hollywood express for an hour and a half and take a look at something that really happpened, this provides escapist entertainment while telling its story with greater control than the average television program.

Rating:
Summary: not memorable
Review: Shattered Glass features excellent performances but was not per se a memorable film or story. Somehow I have seen episodes of Law and Order about similar circumstances that were more captivating, clear and concise. Certainly it is both interesting and newsworthy when a journalist who presumably earns the public's trust fabricates all of his/her stories, causing doubt about the veracity and authenticity of all journalism. However, the film was a bit disjointed and was perhaps too sympathetic to Stephen Glass's story.


Rating:
Summary: a mesmerizing morality play
Review: One of the unsung and unheralded movie treasures of 2003, "Shattered Glass" tells the fascinating story of Stephen Glass, one of the top reporters for The New Republic in the 1990's, who rocked the media world when he had to finally confess that he had fabricated many of his stories. "Shattered Glass" plays like a modern Greek tragedy, centered on a man of great talent and potential brought down by his own internal weaknesses. Glass was only 24 when he fell from grace; prior to that, he was a hot shot reporter who, in the highly competitive world of high stakes journalism, kept looking for that little added edge to make his stories saleable. For a number of years, Glass managed to slip those stories past his editors and fact-checkers without being discovered. However, in the spring of 1998, his world came crashing down around him after an internet magazine became suspicious of a story he had written about a computer hacker who, it turns out, never actually existed.

"Shattered Glass," which is based on an article by Buzz Bissinger, succeeds as both a complex character study and a top notch thriller. The film never gives us any easy answers as to just why Glass put his journalistic integrity and career on the line by perpetrating these frauds. As portrayed in the film, Glass is a paradoxical mixture of both arrogance and insecurity, a smooth manipulator who can charm and sweet talk his way into getting people to like and trust him while at the same time employing those same skills to get himself out of tough situations. Eventually, however, the act runs out of steam and he is exposed for who and what he really is. Yet, who, indeed, is he? Is Glass simply a pathological liar? Is he a stressed-out, overworked "kid" trying desperately to keep his head above water in the cutthroat world of professional journalism? Is he merely a smooth-talking, unethical charmer who knows what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it? Could it be that he is some or all of these things at the same time? The fact that the film never fully answers these questions is what pulls us so deeply into the drama. Moreover, Hayden Christensen gives a superb performance as Glass, making the character both smarmy and vulnerable, repellant and sympathetic all at the same time. In addition to Christensen, the film is filled with brilliant, subtle performances by Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, Hank Azaria and many others.

Superbly written and directed by Billy Ray, "Shattered Glass" is one of the most suspenseful films of recent times, far more gripping than most so-called thrillers because the film is dealing with real-world issues of integrity and ethics. We watch with morbid fascination the slow unraveling of a man's "crime" and character, as Glass becomes more and more ensnared in a web of his own making. The step-by-step process by which a promising young man's true nature is uncovered, then his reputation destroyed, becomes the stuff of classic tragedy.

Although The New Republic eventually recovered from this debacle, the filmmakers do not let the magazine off the hook quite so easily. The thing we are most struck by is how incredibly young the reporters at the magazine were at the time (we are told their average age was 26!). How such unseasoned writers came to play so prominent a part in so major and venerable a publication is indeed one of the great mysteries of the story - and one of the sharpest indictments leveled against the magazine by the makers of the film.

"Shattered Glass" is an ineffably sad film, one that makes us mourn the loss of a promising, talented individual who sowed the seeds of his own destruction (he is currently a lawyer). Yet it also inspires and uplifts us by reminding us that men of integrity will almost always triumph over men of little or no integrity in the long run. That`s a truism worth remembering in this time of great moral confusion in which we find ourselves living. "Shattered Glass" is not to be missed.