Shattered Glass

There's no doubt that Tom Cruise is one of the biggest stars in the world and that...well, he wants to make his mark. With his recent partnership United Artists, it's obvious that he intends to become a major player and I say: "Good for him!"

Nevertheless, I'm not much of a fan. In fact, I can honestly say that I while I enjoyed him in Risky Business...that's about it. To me, his acting seems brittle, too controlled for me to ever feel that I identify with any of the characters that he plays.

His private life, too, has always reeks of media manipulation and with no facts, whatsoever, to back me up, I consider him a freak, up there with Michael Jackson...a very, very strange man.

So, it's with some surprise that one of the first movies he put his name to as Executive Producer (with business partner, Paula Wagner) would be Shattered Glass. It's an expose on disgraced journalist Stephen Glass (Hayden Christiansen), who worked for the prestigous American periodical, New Republic, a "magazine read by people that matter", "the in-flight magazine for Airforce 1."

Shattered Glass

Set within the space of a couple of months in 1998, Shattered Glass is a brilliant snapshot of Glass, a compulsive liar, whose world quickly spins out of control once a rival journalist, Adam Peneborg (Steve Zahn) starts to cross-check Glass' sources on a piece, Hacker Heaven.

Peneborg's queries soon get back to New Republic editor Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) and Glass' lies unravel, much to the disbelief of his peers, who know Glass to be charming, funny and a good writer with an uncanny knack of digging up stories that are both illuminating and entertaining.

Hayden Christensen holds the main role down convincingly but is perhaps very marginally outshone by an excellent supporting cast, in particular, good friend Caitlin Avery (Chloe Sevigny). Though there is no romance, as such, she plays the supporting wife role superbly, fighting for her colleague until the very end, when even she accepts the magnitude of Glass' lies.  Peter Sarsgaard, as well is simply superb, earning a nomination for the Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor.

At a time when:

• the distinctions between fact, fiction and fantasy are being blurred
• reasoned debate is being jettisoned in favor of sound bytes and spin-doctored variations & 
• idealism is being crushed by ridiculously partisan politics, irresponsible shock-jocks and a cynical, lowest common denominator, oligarchical media 

...Shattered Glass is an important film.  
 
The movie starts with a lecture on Journalism that Glass is giving at his Alma Mater to a bunch of impressionable, admiring students. That lecture is then intercut with the main action several times, with each lecture segment demonstrating Glass' excellent understanding of journalistic ideals and how dirtied they became by his wanton hypocrisy.

Writer & director Billy Ray wants us feel that Glass sold his soul in order to be loved by everyone or even anyone. Fair enough...and for me, is that what's attracted Tom cruise to the project?

Finally, there is a much bigger conclusion simmering under Shattered Glass. Lying, whether by journalists, politicians, actors or you and me is indefensible...the bigger crime, strangely enough, is believing those lies...and the biggest crime of all, may be being titillated by them. 

I can't wait for Entertainment Tonight.

Shattered Glass DVD

"... Mom told us never to lie. This movie shows us why..."Amazon reviewer Morten'sorchid

"...I teach writing in a summer bridge program for students about to enter college, and this year I decided to show this film and ask students to write about it. My students...loved the movie and became very interested in the story. Some of them did outside research (not required) in order to develop their responses. The film generated lots of discussion about ethics and character..." Amazon reviewer Elfin

Shattered Glass soundtrack

"...If you have seen the movie, then you know how perfectly the music blends into to the feel and emotional force of the film's story. Like Stephen Glass, it kind of steals into your mind, shaping your emotions without your realizing it. The music isn't so much a work of power as a work of elegant subtlety, and suffers nothing for it. This soundtrack recounts the story in audible sadness and hope. Truly an excellent piece of music, highly recommended..." Amazon reviewer Bremen

see also:

• wikipedia Shattered Glass

Stephen Glass wrote a fiction novel based on his experiences, called The Fabulist. Here is the transcript of an interview that he did for 60 minutes. Glass declined the chance to work on the Shattered Glass movie as a consultant. His book is severly panned by Amazon critics but it appears many are doing so on moral grounds.

Shattered Glass novel

"...I'm trying to figure out why Glass wrote this book. If it's solely to reclaim his name, it sounds like that ship sailed. As much as one hates to say that a person's prior mistakes are "unrecoverable", there are some things that cannot be undone..." Amazon reviewer Someone in TX

"...Marvel, reel, gasp at the solipsism, the sheer chutzpah, of someone who, having committed the journalistic crime of the decade, finds the un-lubed colonoscope of investigative journalism to be a bit cold and unfriendly for his taste..." Amazon reviewer Joseph Barbarie

see also

• wikipedia, Stephen Glass, including links to some of the articles he is believed to have fabricated
• Mike Deluca interviews Shattered Glass director Billy Ray on screenwriting