Shattered Glass (2003)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Billy Ray

Writers (WGA):

Buzz Bissinger (article)
Billy Ray (written by)

Release Date:

26 December 2003 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Read between the lies.

Plot:

The true story of a young journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles.

Plot Keywords:

Washington D.C. | The New Republic | Lying | Teacher Student Relationship | Employment Dismissal

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Hayden Christensen	...	Stephen Glass
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Charles 'Chuck' Lane
Chloë Sevigny	...	Caitlin Avey
Rosario Dawson	...	Andy Fox
Melanie Lynskey	...	Amy Brand
Hank Azaria	...	Michael Kelly
Steve Zahn	...	Adam Penenberg
Mark Blum	...	Lewis Estridge
Simone-Elise Girard	...	Catarina Bannier
Chad Donella	...	David Bach
Jamie Elman	...	Aaron Bluth
Luke Kirby	...	Rob Gruen
Cas Anvar	...	Kambiz Foroohar
Linda Smith	...	Gloria (as Linda E. Smith)
Ted Kotcheff	...	Marty Peretz

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual references and brief drug use.

Runtime:

94 min | Canada:99 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | Australia:89 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | France:U | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39469) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:S | Norway:A | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

The real Stephen Glass was offered to work on the film, but he declined.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Marty comes in to sit in on the meeting of the editors, Caitlin is wearing a light blue sleeveless top. However when the camera cuts back to the editors sitting down and checking the paper for "comma errors", she is wearing a dark blue button-up shirt with short sleeves.

Quotes:

Chuck Lane: You're fired, Steve.
Stephen Glass: What?
Chuck Lane: You're fired, Steve. You've lost your job.
Stephen Glass: But you can't do that.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Chance for Love

When "Glass" shatters...

...Justice will be done. As an aspiring writer, one of the biggest problems for me (as with all authors, I'm sure) is setting up a believable story with realistic characters and motivations, but the trick is being able to do so within the more realistic realm of fiction.

With that in mind, then think about this for a moment: A story about a 15 year-old computer hacker who brings a major software company to its knees would make for great entertainment at office meetings or parties. It has a realistic setting and a believable plot, with a kid who hacks into a company's database, and offers his services in preventing others from doing so, but first wants "X-Men" #1, a new car, and subscriptions to Playboy and Penthouse. This kid is then hailed as a hero within the hacker community, and he gets to sit back and revel in his newfound fame.

Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) had this story nailed down pat - characters and everything, but his problem was that he was not a fiction author, he was the premiere writer for an important technological magazine and nearly ran it into ground when it was discovered that he had fabricated more than half of his articles.

Make no mistake though, "Shattered Glass," which details Stephen Glass' devastating fall from grace when his deception is unearthed by the staffers of a rival magazine, is not at all a pleasant experience. I sometimes had to remember that this was based on a true story, and that a man lied to earn his fame.

I have to admit that by the time the credits began to roll, I was almost on the verge of tears, because I was so saddened and angry - saddened because Glass was on the surface, basically a good and well-liked person. I was angry because this well-liked man was also a fraud, and he deservedly got caught when he became trapped by his own elaborate deceptions.

The final 20 minutes are the most achingly difficult moments to sit through, as Glass' plans come apart at the seams, and we the audience are given front-row seats to his destruction. And we watch as Charles "Chuck" Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) sits back and (unsympathetically) bears witness to all of it. He is totally unflinching to Glass' pleas to drive him somewhere before he does something terrible to himself, like suicide.

It would also help to imagine yourself in Lane's position as an editor, to finally hear that you have been deceived by a kid, a bright kid nonetheless, and then find yourself faced with the difficult task of cleaning up the devastation. You then have to print a formal apology in the next issue of your magazine saying to your readers that they've been lied to.

An effective, powerful film - "Shattered Glass" - and I'm not sure that I could ever sit through it again.

10/10