Because Even Movie Stars Deserve a Fair Shake

Who knew this guy could actually act? I had no idea.

That is, I had no idea until 3:30 Saturday afternoon, which was when I finished watching Shattered Glass.

Shattered Glass is the story of Stephen Glass, an up-and-coming young journalist who worked for The New Republic in the late 1990s. Think of him as the precursor to our newest generation of journalists/writers-with-issues. (Think Jayson Blair and James Frey for a more recent parallel.) When he published a piece called "Hack Heaven," and a Forbes.com reporter busted the piece wide open by discovering nothing or nobody cited in the article checked out, Glass tried to defend himself but ended up burying himself in lies that became so obvious that his editor connected the dots.

Anyway, because I'm me, and if you know me at all, I have to read up on someone or something before I watch a factual movie about them. And what I read had some very clear identifiers about Stephen Glass: an effeminate man, bordering on the seemingly gay. Not just self-effacing, but more or less a paranoiac who constantly asked "Are you mad at me?" And someone who transformed himself any time he spoke about one of his stories in meetings.

And I have to say--Hayden Christensen was masterful in this movie. He displayed the appropriate tics. Asked "Are you mad at me?" with just the right tinge of paranoia and pleading in his voice. And could transform himself, literally from a snivelling sycophant ("My story's not that good. I'll probably scratch it.") to a workplace rock star--as he enacted situations that had never existed and people who were born and thrived only in his head.

It was fabulous, as well, to watch his decline. As the movie started, you could see this peculiar blend of mild paranoia and confidence. In fact, the character was such a paradox to begin with--this desperate desire to please with this near-perfect confidence that whatever he wrote would be well-received.

And as the movie progressed, the dark circles under his eye grew and you could fell the character being more taut. More tense. More strained. And increasingly ready to defend himself and his writing and to insist that anyone who attacked his writing must have some type of personal beef.

As you can tell, I'm not the most spectacular reviewer. But I've got to wonder why this guy has made some of the career choices he has. Sure, toward the end, I could see hints of the ever-angry Anakin. But they fit. And this was, by no means, a one-note performance. I think that I could maybe--maybe--call his turn as Anakin a two-note performance. (Mostly because he looked more or less brooding to me throughout Episode II, and then he seemed angry throughout Episode III. And though I know they weren't intended this way, they came off as more comedy than drama. In fact, I think I laughed harder during those two films than I did through films that were billed as comedies)

As I said, everyone deserves a fair shake. Even movie stars.

What is now completely incomprehensible to me is that he doesn't seem to be giving himself a fair shake.

Either that, or he's opting for roles that amount to: "Hey, Hayden. Please just stand in front of the camera and look good. We'll pay you well to do it."

I sincerely hope he realizes he can do more. And he has.

P.S. Seriously, watch this movie. And then watch the Sixty Minutes interview included as a special feature and tell me if you think the real Stephen Glass really seems contrite to you. I'm curious.