"Shattered Glass" Review

Shattered Glass, a docudrama by Billy Ray, tells the story of Stephen Glass, a journalist whom worked for The New Republic and plagarized most of his work. He is well-liked at work and tells funny and outrageous stories to his coworkers that end up getting published. When a competing company suspects Glass' dishonesty, they go on an investigation that eventually reveals Glass to be a fraud, writing untrue stories that were read by many important figures in society. Hayden Christensen, who played Stephen Glass, effectively showed the transformation in Glass from confident, office funnyman to incredible outcast. In the beginning of the movie, the audience is supposed to like and even admire Glass, thus making it easier to empathize with him in his defeat. Peter Sarsgaard, who played Chuck Lane, Glass' editor, could have been more believable in his disbelief and mistrust of Glass. It could have been an acting choice based on Glass' earnest and innocent persona, but Sarsgaard seemed almost slow-reacting or too trusting. This film was overall well-done; the acting was believable and conveyed the charcters' motivations in a way which eloquently told the true story of a man who faked his way to the top, only to be revealed and brought back down.