Indie Gems: Shattered Glass
Just a little reach..
Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen) is a hot shot journalist at The New Republic. He always finds the craziest, most out there stories. The only problem is, he's fabricating a bunch of them. And a rival journalist, Adam Penengberg (Steve Zahn) starts asking questions about his latest story, it puts a lot of pressure on his new editor Chuck. (Peter Sarsgaard)
I've been meaning to watch this movie for years. It always escaped me, but now it's available on HBO Go so I, well....gave it a go.
I'm glad I did. I love journalism movies and this one is fast paced and interesting as it should be. Sometimes it's hard to watch Christensen after being subjected to him in Star Wars, but like he did in Life as a House, he gives a good performance here. Stephen is not likable at all, but you can understand why others might gravitate towards him. The real star here is Peter Sarsgaard who add so much nuance to his character. He's immediately painted as the bad guy when he really isn't.
The only thing I wish the film did differently was follow the aftermath a little more. That almost seems to be the theme with me lately. I just finished watching American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace and felt the same way. They take us through the deed, but sometimes a few extra minutes on top of those ending title cards would've helped.
Grade: A
Watched on: HBO Go
Memorable Quote: "Why would a big tech company only have one phone line?" - Adam (Steve Zahn)
This is a great film that deserves to be seen more as I enjoyed it. I'm not fond of Hayden Christensen as an actor but he is really good in this film yet the film belongs to Peter Sarsgaard as the new editor that isn't liked yet knows he has a job to do whether people like him or not and knows what is at risk.
ReplyDeleteChristensen is good here like he was in Life as a House. He just needs a good director behind him. But yes, this is Sarsgaard's movie for her.
DeletePoor Melanie Lynskey didn't get a costume change though lol.
Nice review! I remember watching this a ton when it first came out, and enjoying it. Hayden gets so much crap after Star Wars, but he's generally not that bad of an actor.
ReplyDeleteI think with the right directors he does well. Like I said, he's good here and in Life as a House.
DeleteI haven't heard about the movie. But it looks good thanks for sharing the review. I Watch deadpool 2 online trailer.
ReplyDelete