Rating of
4/4
Beautifully Acted
Franz Patrick - wrote on 04/20/08
I've forgotten how much affection I had for this film because it was one of those movies that I saw in transition from being a casual moviegoer to someone who really loves the cinema. This came out a year after "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" and it proved to me that Hayden Christensen can indeed act. I hated him as Anakin Skywalker (with a passion) but I found him charming in "Shattered Glass." Even though I knew what would eventually happen to his character, in that twisted way, I wanted him to not get caught regardless of all his misdeeds. I wanted him to pull a Tom Ripley and started killing everyone that gets in his way. Of course, this was based on actual events so none of those expectations was fulfilled. Still, for a guy who lied to the public time and time again, I believe Christensen deserves to be commended for achieving a great feat of making his character sympathetic but not too sympathetic to the point where the character is viewed as a good person. I must also make note of Peter Sarsgaard for his detestable but fair characterization of Charles "Chuck" Lane. Even though he was trying to do the right thing, I did not want him to succeed because it would mean that Glass would burn. Lastly, I found the look and feel of this film to be extremely realistic. I'm not just talking about the lighting, props, and sets. I'm also talking about the way the journalists looked, the way they spoke, and the way they acted. It was all perfecly weaved; I'm amazed that this film was not embraced by the mainstream.
