The truth is in the eye of the beholder, or so the saying goes. When we cannot be present to witness history ourselves, we are beholden to others to give us an accurate and faithful account. But what happens if that account has been entirely fabricated? Is our trust in those who witness forever destroyed?
That is the dilemma journalists face every day. It is also the essential question posed in a fascinating and suspense filled new movie Shattered Glass. Based on a 1998 Vanity Fair article about the real life exploits of Stephen Glass, an Associate Editor for the highly respected news and opinion magazine, The New Republic, Shattered Glass chronicles one man’s mercurial rise to print media stardom–Glass also freelanced for Harper’s, Rolling Stone and George–and ultimate exposure as a manipulative, deceitful opportunist.
Writer/Director Billy Ray takes us on an exhilarating ride that first engenders a measure of admiration for the young Glass, played with both sympathy and guile by Hayden Christensen. Glass is the youngest on a staff of twenty-somethings who have the very heady responsibility of writing and editing a Washington, DC-based publication that bills itself as “the in-flight magazine of Air Force One.”
Bright kids hobnobbing with the power elite inside the Beltway brings with it glamour and pressure to succeed, yet Glass seems to move effortlessly. He is the charismatic raconteur who regales his colleagues during the editorial meetings with stories from his interviews, and elicits envy from those same co-workers with the number of freelance assignments he gets. But it is admiration, not jealousy they have for Glass, who always manages to remember a birthday or bring someone coffee when they least expect it.
But things that look too good to be true often are, and editors begin to suspect something is amiss. Hank Azaria, plays the late Michael Kelly, editor of The New Republic when Glass first came on board. A likable leader among his young staff, he is nevertheless a professional who is understandably concerned when facts on a story about a convention of young conservatives don’t seem to add up. The ever charming Glass wins him over and the matter blows over too, but at least now questions are starting to be asked.
When Kelly is dismissed following a dispute with the publisher, a less popular member of the staff, Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), takes over as editor. He and Glass joined the magazine at the same time and are seen as rivals by some. When questions arise now, it is easier for Glass to pit Lane against the staff to deflect criticism.
Knowing what happens going in, in no way diminishes the smoldering intensity as this story evolves. How extensive is this deception? Why did no one else suspect? Why did he do it?
Christensen and Sarsgaard push each other’s buttons convincingly, to the point of handing off their roles of good guy and heavy. The story telling is sparse and straight forward, and while we never learn why this all happened, we can see the potential ramifications.
There will be inevitable comparisons to the Jayson Blair incident at The New York Times, but that is merely a fortunate coincidence for the producers of this film. While journalistic integrity is paramount to maintaining a safe democracy, especially in today’s times of boldface lies coming out of the White House, Glass’ story had not nearly the same impact on either the public or the news business as Blair’s. However it is a cautionary tale no one should ever forget.
Shattered Glass is in limited release in New York and Los Angeles until November 7, when it will open nationwide.