neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Shattered Glass
	Billy Ray Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny, Melanie Lynskey, Steve Zahn, Hank Azaria, Rosario Dawson 2003		Dramatizations of news stories, even those that fall into the category of "human interest," are dicey propositions, easily sensationalized, fictionalized to the point of falseness or done clumsily. But "Shattered Glass," an agile, coercive mix of biography, tragedy and morality tale from tyro writer/director Billy Ray, avoids the pitfalls and strikes a felicitous balance between reality and dramatic account. Hayden Christensen, wooden as Darth Vader-to-be Anakin Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films, displays considerable acting skill as young journalist Stephen Glass, whose auspicious career went terribly wrong in the mid-'90s. A staff writer at The New Republic and a high-profile freelancer, Glass is driven by his rush to succeed and please his bosses and associates. He loses sight of his duty, stretches the truth in print, and finds himself in too deep. As played by Christensen, Glass is plausibly innocent and insecure, self-deluding and conniving. Able support comes from Hank Azaria as editor/Glass advocate Michael Kelly, Peter Sarsgaard as Kelly's skeptical successor, Chloë Sevigny and Melanie Lynskey as co-workers and friends of Glass, and Steve Zahn and Rosario Dawson as Internet reporters who discover a pattern of deceit in Glass's work.