Shattered Glass

was quite possibly, no, most definitely the best movie I have ever seen. This is not a statement to be taken lightly, either. I thought long and hard on the drive home about how I would open my mini-review (or full blown long review) of this movie and that is the only satisfying conclusion I could come to.

I'm not sure if it's because I consider myself a writer, and I know how hard it would be to be a fellow writer so deeply betrayed by my friend and colleague.

Maybe it's sympathy I had for new editor Chuck Lane, someone you aren't quite sure of at first but begin to understand as the sole hero of this movie. Seeing him rise to the occasion despite opposition in one of the few emotionally happy satisfying moments of the film.

Or, it could be my own identification with the main character, Stephen Glass, someone who tries to hard to please everyone if only to avoid some greater form of conflict he is so afraid of, only to have a problem bigger than anything he's ever experienced fall into his lap. He is scared, and watching him break apart (or "shatter" if you will) is so emotionally gripping, you aren't sure if you should feel sorry for him because he is in so much pain or because he can't see that he should just give up.

It could be my own desire at times to lie in what I do, but inability to do so because I know I would become Stephen Glass when it came down to it.

The most important thing is that I would not be able to feel any of these things if it wasn't for the performances of the actors involved. Although you wouldn't know it from Star Wars: Episode 2, Hayden Christensen (as Stephen Glass) is an amazing actor, as proven in Life as a House, a movie that managed to make me cry.

Peter Sarsgaard (as Chuck Lane) is unbelievable in this movie. Having only seen him in Center of the World, where I now believe he was totally wasted, this movie was eye opening.

Steve Zahn (as Adam Penenberg, the writer who uncovers Glass) plays his role very straight and manages to bring his character to life in the relatively short amount of time allotted.

The stand out of the film is, though, is Hank Azaria who plays the first editor of the New Republic in the movie. His character is Michael Kelly, an editor who is loved by all his writers, who stands up to the boss when he attacks the writers. His character becomes all the more important when in the final text blurbs of the film, you learn that he was the journalist who died in Iraq.

This movie just about brought tears to my eyes, I was so moved. I drove home in a haze, just thinking about it. I will probably never be able to get this movie out of my mind. I'm so happy that I went to see it at the last possible chance. If you have a chance to see this in the theater, or even if you just wait for DVD, please go see it. You wont regret it.

Last Blurbs: The score is excellent, I applaud Mychael Danna for composing such an excellent score. Hopefully it has been released on CD. The entire supporting cast is excellent and believable as well. Not a single thing in this movie seemed out of place in any way. It was paced well, shot well, written well, and acted well. Just beautiful... beautiful.