Shattered Glass **** (2003, Hayden Christensen, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Steve Zahn) – Classic Movie Review 1899

Writer-director Billy Ray’s 2003 real-life media drama finds good work for Hayden Christensen, who acts like a male model in the Star Wars series, but here kicks up a storm as real-life rogue reporter Stephen Glass, who fabricated a series of stories for the posh, influential American news magazine New Republic (1995-98).

When the popular editor Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria) who encourages the career of Glass is fired, the unpopular new editor Charles ‘Chuck’ Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) sets out to find the truth on his young star. Chloë Sevigny is also excellent as Caitlin Avey, the woman who befriends and believes in Glass, while leading the opposition to the new editor.

With Ray’s screenplay based on an article by Buzz Bissinger, this engrossing, revealing film about journalistic ethics is timely good news. Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey and Steve Zahn also star. It is produced by then screen business partners Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Sarsgaard and Sevigny starred together in Boys Don’t Cry in 1999. Christensen also showed his excellent acting talent in Life as a House (2001).

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© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1899

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