The true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass, who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at The New Republic for three years. Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down.
Reminds you how our culture's emphasis on success and stardom in any field -- and the betrayal of ethics to attain them -- has a cumulative, corrosive effect on society, no matter how small the stage may be.
– Rene Rodriguez,
Miami Herald,
14 Nov 2003
fresh:
As directed by Billy Ray, the film has an exceptionally tight focus and a fascinating story to tell.
– Moira MacDonald,
Seattle Times,
14 Nov 2003
fresh:
A sober, wry and often riveting account of an infamous moment in journalism.
– Roger Moore,
Orlando Sentinel,
26 Nov 2003
rotten:
What are we to learn from this? Not the broad lesson that every line of work has its share of charlatans: The script is way too pious to swallow such a generic pill. And not anything important about Glass, since there's no real character examination.
– Rick Groen,
Globe and Mail,
28 Nov 2003
fresh:
Does a superb job in presenting four of the five journalistic 'Ws' of its story: the who, what, where and when. It fails, however, on the essential 'why' of the tale.