"Shattered Glass" present us the behind the scenes of one of the most infamous stories involving the journalistic world: the false articles written by the young reporter Stephen Glass while working at the staff of 'The New Republic'.
Based on a article written by Buzz Bissinger, the true story of Glass (played by Hayden Christensen) and his false stories show to us the frail world of journalism and the power of lies versus truth. A shadowy and tense place that seems cautious of everyone and everything but even in a place like that things can pass unnoticed, regardless.
But the movie is also about the people who discovered the truth behind the lies; the staff of a on-line media (played by Steve Zahn, Rosario Dawson and Cas Anvar) and Glass editor Charles Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), they are the ones who checked and double checked facts and more facts after noticing many strange and false details in a supposed scoop reported by Glass about a hacker convention that took place at a hotel.
The movie leaves many questions to its audience, some of them answered, others not so much. How come respected professional editors of the most important magazine of U.S., a magazine read by the President of the nation, haven't checked the facts of a young reporter whose major talents is writing and be a charming person that conquers everybody? Why Glass made all those articles? Is it for the need of being respected as journalist? Or it was a revenge against Charles because the editor before him was a very nice guy? How come Glass never gets tired of humiliating himself by telling that his story is true all the time? And the most important question of all: after all this deception can we trust media?
Billy Ray's movie has the same importance as "All the President's Men" has. It makes you see the press world as something powerful, complex, interesting. If in Pakula's movie you wanted to be part of that exciting world, in this movie you might get depressed (not saying that this is a bad movie) because it is a extremely difficult job, just like when Hayden explains us the routine of a newspaper room, the hours of working, the stressed writers and the stressed bosses, that kind of thing. It is a great film about journalism capturing the pressure and the hard work of simply tell a story, report a news, cover a subject and the meanders of how a news reaches the public.
The acting on this film is at it's best. Hayden Christensen is good but Peter Sarsgaard is way better and makes the movie more interesting in every scene he appears, stealing the show in every possible way. His character is presented at a distance but he gets bigger, deeper and more powerful at each moment, representing the ethical, moral side of the story. The speech he gives to Chlöe Sevigny and the confrontation at the restaurant are among his best moments in the film, things to not miss at all. He definitely should've been nominated for an Oscar.
Great film debut for writer and director Billy Ray who later would direct the impeccable "Breach". The sad thing about "Shattered Glass" was that it wasn't a big hit, it is a very underrated film that got a tiny but loyal audience.
"Shattered Glass" gives us a important lesson on how truth and lies are so intertwined that we might accept everything as being truthful easily, careless of things, careless of people. The 'don't believe in anything, be suspicious of everything' speech worked in this real life story. Except on this review, you can really trust in my words. This is really a great movie! 10/10
Based on a article written by Buzz Bissinger, the true story of Glass (played by Hayden Christensen) and his false stories show to us the frail world of journalism and the power of lies versus truth. A shadowy and tense place that seems cautious of everyone and everything but even in a place like that things can pass unnoticed, regardless.
But the movie is also about the people who discovered the truth behind the lies; the staff of a on-line media (played by Steve Zahn, Rosario Dawson and Cas Anvar) and Glass editor Charles Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), they are the ones who checked and double checked facts and more facts after noticing many strange and false details in a supposed scoop reported by Glass about a hacker convention that took place at a hotel.
The movie leaves many questions to its audience, some of them answered, others not so much. How come respected professional editors of the most important magazine of U.S., a magazine read by the President of the nation, haven't checked the facts of a young reporter whose major talents is writing and be a charming person that conquers everybody? Why Glass made all those articles? Is it for the need of being respected as journalist? Or it was a revenge against Charles because the editor before him was a very nice guy? How come Glass never gets tired of humiliating himself by telling that his story is true all the time? And the most important question of all: after all this deception can we trust media?
Billy Ray's movie has the same importance as "All the President's Men" has. It makes you see the press world as something powerful, complex, interesting. If in Pakula's movie you wanted to be part of that exciting world, in this movie you might get depressed (not saying that this is a bad movie) because it is a extremely difficult job, just like when Hayden explains us the routine of a newspaper room, the hours of working, the stressed writers and the stressed bosses, that kind of thing. It is a great film about journalism capturing the pressure and the hard work of simply tell a story, report a news, cover a subject and the meanders of how a news reaches the public.
The acting on this film is at it's best. Hayden Christensen is good but Peter Sarsgaard is way better and makes the movie more interesting in every scene he appears, stealing the show in every possible way. His character is presented at a distance but he gets bigger, deeper and more powerful at each moment, representing the ethical, moral side of the story. The speech he gives to Chlöe Sevigny and the confrontation at the restaurant are among his best moments in the film, things to not miss at all. He definitely should've been nominated for an Oscar.
Great film debut for writer and director Billy Ray who later would direct the impeccable "Breach". The sad thing about "Shattered Glass" was that it wasn't a big hit, it is a very underrated film that got a tiny but loyal audience.
"Shattered Glass" gives us a important lesson on how truth and lies are so intertwined that we might accept everything as being truthful easily, careless of things, careless of people. The 'don't believe in anything, be suspicious of everything' speech worked in this real life story. Except on this review, you can really trust in my words. This is really a great movie! 10/10