Shattered Glass is a true story about a gay pathological liar. There, I said it. He’s gay. The movie alludes to it, and in the interview with the real guy, you can tell. I think his closeted homosexuality explains a lot about why he did what he did – he lives a lifestyle that he is trying to cover up. He tells one lie, then has to cover it up with another lie. Before long, everything is a lie, and he gets comfortable being a liar because he’s so used to it.

This movie is about a piece of human waste named Stephen Glass, who nearly ruined the reputation of the very prestigious magazine called The New Republic. This kid, who was in his early 20’s at the time, was making waves in the journalism field. His articles were highly praised and he developed quite a fan base. It would later be discovered that the majority of his work was complete and total bovine defecation. That’s BS, in layman’s terms.

Mr. Glass would make up fake sources and fake quotes and fake companies and fake meetings. He even made a fake website and fake email and voicemail boxes for fake contacts to back up a completely fake article on hackers – the last article he would ever write for the magazine. When journalists at Forbes magazine try to write a companion piece to his article, they can’t seem to find any information on the company or hackers or anything else to do with what Glass wrote. As the Forbes people start questioning the sources that Glass named, the truth slowly comes to light.

This film deals with the last days of Glass at The New Republic. It begins by showing his boss double checking on a comment Glass had made in a previous article where he said students at a young Republicans convention spent most of their time in the hotel room doing drugs and roughing up prostitutes. As the camera follows Glass around the office, it is clear that everyone there loves him. He hands out compliments and candy to all the women, and even the guys like his personality and friendliness.

Early on in the movie, he tells a co-worker about how he needs to stop acting the way he does because people think he is gay. Then he tells a story about being kissed by a male editor at another magazine. Why would you tell someone that unless you were trying to admit to something that you didn’t want to say outright?

Shattered Glass starts out painting a pretty picture of Mr. Glass. He’s charismatic and well liked, and his youthful presence draws the respect of his older peers. This guy has a talent for writing, but he wasted it with what he did. Because he got caught lying, he will most likely never write for any kind of prestigious magazine again, and that is a shame to see talent go to waste for lack of morals.

Trust is a very powerful thing and Glass betrayed the trust of everyone he worked for, everyone he worked with, and everyone that ever bought a copy of The New Republic. His actions should have landed him in jail, but lying is not a crime unless you do it in court. However, he will be feeling the aftershocks of his short time at the magazine for the rest of his life.

Hayden Christensen does a wonderful job playing the troubled Mr. Glass. Hayden spends the entire movie with a look of worried confidence, and his final scenes where he breaks down are very well done. The last shot in the movie shows him having to admit to what he’d done and Hayden really shines here by relying on facial expressions and hardly any dialogue. Peter Sarsgaard is excellent as the suspicious boss who ultimately calls Glass’ bluff and solves the mystery behind his lies and deception. Hank Azaria has a small appearance as Glass’ first boss, and he does well in this dramatic role. All the other players do excellent with their jobs, making this movie a compelling character study.

Shattered Glass is so good that as soon as I finished watching it, I called up my parents and insisted they see it before I took it back to the video store. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I watched it again with them.

The DVD has some commentary that includes the former boss of Phillip Glass, but I did not get a chance to listen to it. The best part of the DVD is a 12 minute long copy of an interview that 60 Minutes did with the real Stephen Glass. Being able to see this loser try to plead his case really puts the icing on the cake. After all he did, the guy went to law school and passed the bar, but is now having trouble getting approved to actually set up practice. Isn’t that perfect? A compulsive liar trying to become a lawyer.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older