There is the story, many of us know, of ‘the boy who cried wolf’, the person who lies so much that even when he/she tells the truth they are disbelieved out of habit. Another type, and not fable-based, is an individual who lies so much that he/she actually believes their own lies to be the truth. In a category close to those is someone who privately does know the falseness of his/her statements, but clings to these statements as the truth in public even when presented with overwhelming evidence showing otherwise.
The movie “”Shattered Glass”” deals with such a habitual liar, Steven Glass, who in this case is also a writer for the prestigious magazine The New Republic. In this film, based on real-life events, Glass is very popular with his fellow youthful writers—the movie establishes the average age of The New Republic’s writers to be 26–and he maintains a very jovial spirit in the office despite the high stress. His friends in particular are David (Chad Donella), Amy (Melanie Lynskey), and Caitlin (Chloe Sevigny).The titular character hails from a background where is under much pressure to succeed, working long hours and considering attending Georgetown Law School. Despite his ambitious nature, there is a sense that something is not right when details in his story regarding a young conservatives’ conference are found suspect, something about whether the hotel hosting the conference has mini-bars (?). Glass apologizes for, and explains, this mix-up to Editor Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria), and after a quick check on this detail (whether the hotel has mini-bar, or if it allows guests to rent small fridges), the Editor doesn’t pursue this further. Kelly, in the meantime, is very well-liked by the writers he supervises, but apparently not so with his boss, the publication’s Managing Editor Martin Peretz (Ted Kotcheff). The former is fired by Peretz, who apparently wants to take The New Republic in a new direction, and replaces him with Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard). The move proves very unpopular with the magazine staff, who later worry whether those who are ‘pro-Michael’ will be favored over those who are ‘pro-Chuck’. Glass continues to fervently submit articles, and comes out with a news story with which he seems very enthusiastic, to the point where he excitedly gets up on the meeting room table as he recreates the tale for his fellow staff. The subject of this is computer hackers, and how one–an Ian Restil (Owen Rotharmel)–was caught by a major software company called Jukt Micronics. Rather than punish this perpetrator, Jukt offers to use his services, even offering incentives like money and a car (when he can drive that is), and Ian goes quickly goes to celebrate this arrangement with his co-horts at a hacker’s convention. The preceding occurances, which the young writer claims to have witnessed, serve as the topic for his article ‘Hack Heaven’. This article is published, and at an on-line service called Forbes Digital, Editor Kambiz Foroohar (Cas Anvar) chastises reporter Adam Penenberg (Steve Zahn) for not picking up on this matter. In doing a follow up to Glass’ work, however, Adam discovers something amiss–beginning with no Internet search hits for Jukt Micronics, and culminating in the realization that none of the people in ‘Hack Heaven’ seem to exist, nor can any of the other ‘facts’ in the article be corroborated (except that…., as Adam puts it, Nevada is a state). The rest of the movie becomes a search for the truth, beginning with Forbes Digital–Foroohar and writers Penenberg and Andie Fox (Rosario Dawson)–and then within The New Republic itself. The problems at first appear just an issue of finding the sources for the article, but when Forbes seems set to print something on this matter, Glass is forced by his Editor to give some hard evidence backing up his work. The film provides a character study of a young, and seriously troubled, individual, at the same time it looks at the sometimes flawed journalistic process. In regards to the casting choice, there may be some who wonder about Hayden Christensen and his acting after seeing him as rebellious punk teen Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader, in Episode 2 of that “”Star Wars”” franchise, but here makes a wise decision switching from the Old Republic to the New Republic. Seriously…he portrays the 20-something writer well and portraying an insecure individual who goes from acting overconfident to behaving immaturely, not seeming to comprehend that the falsehoods he’s created can potentially damage himself, his employers, and his profession in general. This is not to say that Glass isn’t in control, as early on he manipulates his colleagues into publishing his work, and then as circumstances turn against him he convinces them that he’s the victim of the anti-Michael (Kelly) bias mentioned above. Lane becomes a significant character during this turn of events, and Sarsgaard deserves praise as depicting the Editor as one with restrained agitation, but who begins to lose that restraint as he discovers the extent of his star writer’s problematic behavior. He initially doesn’t want to seriously discipline someone he feels to be a troubled ‘kid’, but finds he has no choice with the reputation of The New Republic at stake. While “”Shattered Glass”” maintains its focus on the lead’s downward spiral, it provides some commentary on journalism, and gives insight on the article publication process as well. There is not much in the way of background exposition, no “”main character as a child”” moments; rather the lead’s early life is explained during one of the classroom sequences, which are supposedly set during the ‘present’, with Glass addressing a class at his alma mater–Highland Park High School. Much of the activity of the movie (set in 1997-98) is then viewed as flashbacks from that moment . The film’s tone also has a certain fantasy-like quality to it, and that comes back to the earlier point of what happens when someone believes their own lies. Although the title individual is aware of the truth, his reaction is that of a child in that he believes the “”adults”” will not pursue the facts so zealously or even that he can dismiss questions with quick excuse-esque responses rather than real, substantive answers (for instance, that the head of a major company likes to leave his voice on the general office voice mail because he prefers a hands-on approach, or that a restaurant will seat a large group for dinner, even if closes at 3 p.m.). This flick provides fine acting jobs from its two leads—the supporting cast does well too (especially Sevigny as a vulnerable fact-checker) but the ones who stand out here are on Christensen and Sarsgaard. The movie also presents its story with a steady pace and doesn’t get too sidetracked, save for a few bits like scenes of Lane’s home life and a brief office feud at Forbes between Penenberg and Fox (office politics is viewed here at both Forbes Digital and The New Republic then). Despite moments that shift away from the main plot, “”Shattered Glass”” provides both an cynical—and timely, a la Jayson Blair The New York Times–look at journalism, as well as a view of someone with some truth ‘issues’, to put it mildly. Grade: A-