“Are you mad at me?” the often heard quote by Stephen Glass (Christensen) in Shattered Glass rings through the entire movie as Hayden Christen portrays a young reporter for The New Republic magazine.
Shattered Glass follows Stephen Glass whose articles have turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events — chronicled in Buzz Bissinger’s September 1998 Vanity Fair article on which “Shattered Glass” is based — suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.
While Christensen came off weak in Star Wars Episode II his talents of looking pathetic and like a mama’s boy come in quite handy in his new role as Stephen Glass. He may not be believable as the next Darth Vader but as a whimpering young man he is excellent.
The story of Stephen Glass probes deep into one of our culture’s most trusted professions and shows what some people will do for that little bit of extra attention and what others will do to make sure that profession remains reputable.
Glass’ innocent behavior and kind ways make you believe he is in no way capable of the deception he pulls off making you care for him and want things to turn out for the best, while at the same time as the movie rolls on you soon begin to delve deeper into what makes him tick and your emotions are taken for an unsuspecting rollercoaster ride.
Christensen is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast headlined by Peter Sarsgaard who plays Glass’ editor, Chuck Lane, in the second half of the movie.
Lane was torn between his editorial duties and his efforts to make sure that the ethical standards demanded of the press are held up despite the fact that Glass’ peers, all of which are just as young if not younger than he.
Other notables are Chloë Sevigny, Glass’ girlfriend and co-worker, and Hank Azaria who plays Glass’ original editor at The New Republic who is eventually forced out due to conflicts with management and Lane is given his role at the magazine.
Where Azaria’s role as editor failed Chuck Lane looks deeper and soon finds what has made Glass’ work so appealing.
A note by writer/director, Billy Ray, really sums up the true meaning of what he wanted to portray and was able to with Shattered Glass, “The responsibility of the press, the dangers inherent to a cult of personality, and the day-to-day ethical dilemmas that define us as individuals. Glass quickly became, at least for me, the face of something larger than himself, larger even than the magazine he so badly damaged. He began to represent a wake-up call about the state of journalism in this country, one made even louder by this spring’s developments of Jayson Blair at the New York Times. When people can no longer believe what they read, their only choices will be to either turn to television for their daily news, or to stop seeking out news entirely. Either path, I think, is a very dangerous one for this country.”
Shattered Glass will having you reading those morning articles twice and second guessing those investigative reporting pieces that intrigue audiences around the globe.
Be sure to catch Shattered Glass as it will impress and disgust you at the same time as you see the rise and fall of a young journalist and the measures he had to take to get to the top.
