MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Shattered Glass

Shattered Glass

2003 · 94 min

A tense, talky procedural that quietly tightens the screws as a charming liar is cornered by dogged reporting.

Tagline
He'd do anything to get a great story.
Overview
Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.

Search YouTube for the trailer

Stream in the UK
  • Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • deception
  • media
  • ambition
  • guilt
  • morality
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
  • procedural
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour3
Realism9
Romance1
Tension6
Darkness5
Complexity6
Emotional weight5

More like this

Titles like Shattered Glass

Movie

Richard Jewell

2019

A quiet, simmering procedural that turns a hero's nightmare into a slow-burn study of institutional betrayal and quiet dignity.

Same writer: Billy Ray · Tense · about media and guilt · true story

Also
Same writer: Billy Ray
Via
  • tense
  • media
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
131 min
Details In your watch list
Richard JewellHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Social Reckoning

2026

A tense, talky procedural that turns corporate documents and Senate hearings into a quiet battle for conscience, with a chilly, urgent aftertaste.

Tense · about media and morality · true story

Via
  • tense
  • media
  • morality
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
113 min
Details In your watch list
The Social ReckoningHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Faking Hitler

2021

A wry, slow-burning true-crime drama about journalistic hubris, watching clever people fool themselves as much as each other.

Tense, cynical · about deception and media · true story

Via
  • tense
  • cynical
  • deception
  • media
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details In your watch list
Faking HitlerHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Primetime

2026

A slow-burn, unsettling plunge into the making of a reality TV sting, where performative justice curdles into a tense, morally queasy nightmare.

Tense · about media and guilt · true story

Via
  • tense
  • media
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
110 min
Details In your watch list
PrimetimeHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Quiz Show

1994

A quietly gripping moral drama that unfolds with the tension of a thriller, steeped in melancholy and sharp social observation.

Tense · about ambition and guilt · true story

Via
  • tense
  • ambition
  • guilt
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
133 min
Details In your watch list
Quiz ShowHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Post

2017

A tense, talky newsroom drama that builds quiet suspense around a single decision, carried by two magnetic performances and a sense of history in the making.

Tense · about media · true story

Via
  • tense
  • media
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
116 min
Details In your watch list
The PostHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

A grim, methodical plunge into sexual violence and its aftermath, carried by dogged investigators and courtroom confrontations that leave a lingering heaviness.

Tense · about morality · procedural

Via
  • tense
  • morality
  • procedural
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Seasons
28
Details In your watch list
Law & Order: Special Victims UnitHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Breach

2007

A slow-burning, quietly tense spy procedural that feels like a chess match of suspicion and loyalty, grounded in realism and moral weight.

Same writer: Billy Ray · Tense · true story

Also
Same writer: Billy Ray
Via
  • tense
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
110 min
Details In your watch list
BreachHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

State of Play

2009

A tense, talky investigative thriller that pulls you into the grimy mechanics of journalism and political power.

Same writer: Billy Ray · Tense, cynical · about media

Also
Same writer: Billy Ray
Via
  • tense
  • cynical
  • media
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
127 min
Details In your watch list
State of PlayHidden from your suggestions.
TV series

The Dropout

2022

A slick, queasy rise-and-fall plunge into self-invention and self-deception, watching charisma curdle into fraud with mounting dread.

Tense, cynical · about deception and ambition · true story

Via
  • tense
  • cynical
  • deception
  • ambition
  • true story
Pacing
brisk
Attention
engaged
Seasons
1
Details In your watch list
The DropoutHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Truth

2015

A tense, talky procedural that turns a newsroom scandal into a slow-burn tragedy of reputation and conviction.

Same cinematographer: Mandy Walker · Tense · about media · true story

Also
Same cinematographer: Mandy Walker
Via
  • tense
  • media
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
125 min
Details In your watch list
TruthHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Street Smart

1987

A grimy, slow-burning moral trap where ambition and danger tighten around a likable liar until every choice costs someone.

Tense, cynical · about deception and media

Via
  • tense
  • cynical
  • deception
  • media
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
97 min
Details In your watch list
Street SmartHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history
Directed by
Billy Ray
Written by
Billy Ray
Starring
Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey, Hank Azaria, Steve Zahn, Mark Blum
Music
Mychael Danna
Cinematography
Mandy Walker
Runtime
94 min
Country
Canada, United States of America
Languages
English

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata