Lying is Bad, Bad, Bad

Didn't quite make it out to the theater yesterday, but did manage to watch "Shattered Glass." A very solid little movie; tightly constructed, not a lot of excess fat on the story, which follows the meteoric rise and equally sudden fall of New Republic journalist Stephen Glass (who, judging from the accompanying "60 Minutes" piece on the DVD, is one craaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy M-F-er.) The performances were great, and I have to say, Hayden Christensen really delivered. He quite convincingly conveyed the panic-stricken free-fall of a compulsive liar (or whatever he is) when he finally gets busted.

Props are also due, of course, to my boy Peter Sarsgaard. You know him as the embodiment of evil in "Boys Don't Cry," and also as the lucky guy who got to smooch Liam Neeson in "Kinsey." I have already confessed my crush on him, but aside from that, he is quite an intense, intelligent actor.

Anyway, given the current controversy surrounding journalistic ethics (mostly at the Times), I thought this picture was a tasty and relevant treat. Since I know a teeny-weeny bit about the world of journalism (my sister-in-law is a reporter for Forbes), and judging from the "60 Minutes" piece, it seems like the crew on this film really did THEIR research, and strove to create a factually accurate depiction of what went down during this almost-unbelievable scandal.

No sex, no drugs, no violence - just a solidly-told, well-acted story. And by the way, The New Republic is a pretty crappy magazine these days (we subscribed during the '04 election season, and they endorsed Joe Liebermann. Need I say more?)