Young actors who are suddenly launched to stellar heights, have often trouble continuing their careers when they get their feet back on the ground. Hayden Christensen was literally rocketed sky-high in the last two Star Wars movies, where he played the young Anakin Skywalker. This movie gave him the chance to show that he is a talented actor, starring as the lead star in this biopic about a young successful reporter. His choice is an interesting one, since he – once again – chooses to play an unlikeable character.

Based upon a true story, this movie tells about the young successful journalist Stephen Glass who made headline news in the late 90’s, when he was accused of concocting most of his published stories. As a writer for The New Republic, he faked more than half of his stories by fabricating sources, events and making up complete stories from A to Z. This eventually ushered in his own downfall once he got exposed by a rival news group. After his stories get debunked we see him falling in a ever deepening pit of self-dug misery. It quickly becomes obvious that the young reporter has serious problems, but they are never fully explained. The character of Stephen Glass is very reminiscent of Tom Ripley (of The Talented Mr. Ripley) as they both share their pitiful and deceitful nature. They are both emotionally damaged souls, in continuous search of attention and recognition, yet unable to preserve and enjoy the affection they receive.

Christensen shows real guts in taking on this role: his character is very unlikeable and at the most pitiable. The young actor makes a bold choice to go for a challenging yet unpopular role, but which gives him the opportunity to show his skill as an actor. Although the premise of the story is quite interesting, the plot doesn’t get very exciting. The story is not as much about the fake publications and the debunking, as it is about the dark recesses of a damaged soul. Unfortunately, we don’t get a deeper insight into the motives of Stephen Glass, so it remains somewhat clouded as to why he walks this self-destructive path. Christensen gives an impressive and multi-layered performance, while the rest of the cast is more than adequate. The young actor’s feat reminds me a bit of another young and talented actor: Leonardo DiCaprio. The latter also showed great skill at a young age in movies like This Boy’s Life, The Basketball Diaries and the splendid What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (for which he undoubtedly deserved to get an Academy Award). The question now is if Hayden Christensen can fulfil the promise he has shown here.