Cady's Take:

Hayden Christensen absolutely shines in his portrayal of Glass. The women on the staff (including Chloe Sevigny) fawn over him as he continually snows his colleagues with flattery and self-deprecation. The other major player in "Shattered Glass" is Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), the recently installed New Republic editor. Sarsgaard was fabulous to say the least. His quiet, tortured performance becomes the movie's backbone. As we begin to see Glass through Lane's eyes, the film's mood darkens and its pace accelerates; what had began, as a sharp workplace comedy becomes a clammy, vertiginous psychological thriller.

Glass's deception unfolds before the audience as it is uncovered by two reporters (Steve Zahn and Rosario Dawson) from Forbes Digital Tool. This movie is a serious, well-observed examination of the practice of journalism. Sit back and enjoy. You can’t go wrong with this All-Star cast and sensational storyline!

Have you ever watched a movie or television show where you are almost too embarrassed for the character to continue watching? I felt that way for 99 minutes watching “Shattered Glass,” the story of Stephen Glass, a reporter for The New Republic who writes phenomenal stories that make everyone in the newsroom laugh and wish they had his incredible luck for stumbling upon outrageous characters with stories to tell. Especially envious is fellow writer Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard) who, after beloved editor Michael Kelly (Hank Azaria) is fired, is chosen to take over and is instantly hit with a cold wall of disdain. Although Lane was jealous of Stephen’s stories, as editor he is not vindictive or overly critical and he continues to be impressed by Glass’s abilities.

Stephen is charming and loveable. He pitches stories and ends his pitch with something like “I know it sounds silly, I probably won’t finish it” even as everyone in the meeting groans at this kid who does not realize his own genius. Stephen does finish the stories, however, and TNR publishes them, and people read them and love them, and editors of publications like “George” start sniffing around. Unfortunately for Stephen another reporter – this one from upstart online magazine Forbes Digital Tool – Adam Penenberg gets hold of the story about a 14-year-old hacker who goes to work for the company he hacked. Adam (Steve Zahn) turns up one dead end after another until it becomes increasingly clear that the people and places Glass described may not exist at all.

Hayden Christensen stars as Glass and he does an excellent job of creating a complex, sympathetic character. Glass half-believes these stories he has created and it makes the transgression sad rather than despicable. He scrambles and scrambles and scrambles to cover lost notes and missing telephone numbers of “sources” who do not exist. In my opinion the real breakout performance here is from Sarsgaard. His Charles Lane is torn between a staff that hates him and the truth. The more truth comes out the more the staff hates him and the more the staff hates him the harder it is to get to the truth. “Shattered Glass offers two amazing performances that add up to one outstanding movie. This is a must-rent.