Shattered Glass (2003)
We've all heard this story but,
like an urban legend, it has been fluffed and folded
many times in the telling until it has become unrecognizable.
The way I heard it, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist,
who wrote articles for prestigious newsmagazines in
the 90's, was found to have faked many of his sources.
More than faked, he simply made them up. I never knew
the guy's name or what magazine it was or anything
else about him. Of course, I assumed he had been fired
and I also assumed he was probably a semi-celebrity
now, well-know for faking out the establishment. This
film is based on that true story and, as it unfolds,
it proves some of my notions about the story were
a bit off the mark.
Hayden Christensen is the star of
this film and, with me, he starts out in the hole.
(No pun intended.) To be quite blunt, I think he is
one of the worst young actors out there. He only has
a name because George Lucas, the mother of all bad
casters in Hollywood, picked him to be the young Darth
Vader. Christensen does little to change my opinion
of him here. He plays Stephen Glass like a caricature.
He's so wooden and so phoney that we wonder why none
of the girls he supposedly charms doesn't see right
through him. I never understood how this guy got away
with what he did and the only answer the film seems
to have is that Glass charmed the pants off of anyone
he met. Christensen cannot pull this off. His Glass
comes across not as charming but as whiny, annoying
and cloying.
But the story is nonetheless fascinating
and writer/director Bill Ray really makes it easy
for us to follow the ideas expressed here. The script
uses typical ideas at times, like having Glass visit
his old high school and address a group of young journalists
in order than he may begin spouting exposition as
he tells his story in flashback. But other times the
piece relies heavily on simple storytelling, and the
ability of the supporting characters to convey plot,
themes and ideas becomes the piece's finest attributes.
The best at doing this are the two
men who play Glass' editors, Hank Azaria and Peter
Sarsgaard. (Sadly Chloe Sevigny, Sarsgaard's "Boys
Don't Cry" co-star has almost nothing to do here.)
If you consider the dramatic thrust of the story,
Sarsgaard is the real star here. This guy is amazing.
He makes the last third of the film come alive with
dramatic tension. Christensen actually looks good
playing off of him. Sarsgaard's eventual emergence
as a main character ends the film in a truly intense
and crystalized climax that is fascinating and compelling.
Like Erin Brockovich, "Shattered
Glass" should be commended for taking what could be
a slow, dry and boring story as well as one that is
difficult to comprehend and making it a enthralling
and intense cinematic experience that is simple to
understand. In that sense, it's truly a wonderful
film. This is probably achieved easily by Ray since
he is a scriptwriter stepping behind the camera for
the first time here.
Note:
Also with Steve Zahn, and Rosario
Dawson.
Tom Cruise and his partner Paula
Wagner helped produce the film.
Mychael Danna provides the compelling
score.
Based on an article by Buzz Bissinger
in "Vanity Fair."
Glass wrote a novel published in
2003 called "The Fabulist." It is believed that 27
of the 41 articles he wrote for "The New Republic"
were faked or partially faked.
Viewed
at AFF in October 2003.
