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Shattered Glass

Starring: Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Zahn, Hank Azaria, Rosario Dawson
Director: Billy Ray

Reviewed by Chris Ching

"It's Obi-Wan, he keeps holding me back!" Hayden Christensen ear piercingly whined as Anakin Skywalker in Episode 2: Attack of the Clones . And in Shattered Glass, Christensen's acting style isn't too far removed from his previous role as the most annoying Chosen One In the galaxy (Except of course for little Jake Lloyd's stab at Anakin in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace ). Here he plays real life reporter Stephen Glass the hotshot writer discovered in 1998 of rampant plagiarism. Not a big deal if you're the scribe of a neighborhood newsletter, but as an award winning writer for The New Republic, Time, and Rolling Stone, Glass worked in a world where fact is like air... you live by it. Or at least you're supposed too.

"You're not Wizard, Ani!" Peter Sarsgaard lets it rip on poor Hayden Christensen.

The movie lays down the premise that Glass was able to keep up his deception for so long based on his skill to schmooze. His co-workers (Chloë Sevigny and Melanie Lynskey among them) fawn over him like he's Woodward, Bernstein, and a lab puppy rolled into one. Yet, Christensen obnoxiously plays him as a pitiful kiss ass. Glass is so obviously full of it that its hard to believe how anyone takes anything he says seriously. Another minus in the handling of his character is that we are never told why he lies other than that he's a total psycho. And when your lead character is not only a psycho, but a psycho the audience has no connection with, your film is gonna shatter like glass, pun completely intended.

Luckily, the makers of Shattered Glass have a lot of glue. Despite Christensen's miss, the movie is immensely watchable. Like All the President's Men, another newspaper thriller, the slow peeling away of Glass' secret is tautly filmed. Credit has to go of course, to director Bill Ray who makes up for...well most of his previous work, in recreating onscreen the acclaim, backstabbing, and rush of working at a big time news magazine. At times, the film feels like a documentary.

The movies's most valuable asset is Peter Sarsgaard as Glass' editor Chuck Lane. He's the flip side to the flamboyant, self-absorbed Glass. Lane is low key, humble, almost boring. But as he discovers what Glass has done and to the reputation of the New Republic as "Airforce One's Inflight Magazine of Choice", he blows Glass and Christensen out of the water. Sarsgard serves up one of those choice performances where you hardly catch the acting- he is that character. He's already snagged a Golden Globe nomination, and I hope the Academy of Motion Pictures follows suit. Another thumbs up to Chloë Sevigny as Glass's co-worker and doting schnookie lumps. Thumbs down to the hiring of Rosario Dawson in a minimal role whose camera time would have better been served by Toni Hudson. Whose that you ask? Exactly! Hey Rosario, get yourself a new agent who'll get you a gig that lasts longer than five freakin' minutes.

Shattered Glass appearance is timely too. In early 2003, journalist Jayson Blair was fired from the New York Times because of his own Glassian views on the whole fiction/non fiction thing. Also in our nation's current role as the government's clueless wife (we believe everything our wonderful Man says), it would be wise for us to stop taking things at face value.

This review excluded of course.

Rating: (3 out of 4 stars)

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