Editorial Review:Description:Academy Award® winner Anthony Hopkins and Academy Award® nominee Ryan Gosling are brilliant in this 'exceptionally suspenseful nail-biter' (Rex Reed) that's so smart it 'doesn't let go, even after the final twist' (Gene Shalit, 'Today'). Ted Crawford (Hopkins) brutally murders his wife and calmly waits for the police to arrest him. With the weapon and a signed confession in hand, Deputy D.A., Willy Beachum (Gosling), believes a conviction is a slam dunk; that is until the case completely unravels. Now, with little evidence, Beachum goes head to head with the cunning Mr. Crawford in a desperate search for the truth and the answer to one burning question: How is this guy getting away with murder?
Amazon.com:Anthony Hopkins plays a brilliant, pathologically serene killer outwitting the good guys at every turn and taking a shine to a twentysomething law enforcer who can’t conceal a rural accent and rugged origins. Could it be...? No, not
The Silence of the Lambs, but an original mystery,
Fracture, which plays a little like
Lambs as an episode of
Columbo, minus Columbo. Which means the film tells us from the get-go that Hopkins’ character, a wealthy engineer, shoots his philandering wife (Embeth Davidtz) and leaves her in a vegetative state. From there, it should be a simple matter for young, assistant District Attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) to nail Crawford, who provides a full confession and even eschews counsel. That’s good for Beachum, a slick winner with a vague background of deprivation, rapidly on his way out of public service after attracting the attention of a deep-pocket, private firm. What he doesn’t know, however, is that Crawford has masterminded more than vengeance against his wife, and that the state’s case against him is full of pre-arranged holes and a huge time-bomb that will send Beachum scrambling to keep the pieces together.
The story, conceived and co-scripted by Daniel Pyne (
Doc Hollywood), goes down easily with a minimum of blood and violence, and should easily appeal to mystery buffs as well as old fans of Hopkins and new admirers of Oscar nominee Gosling (
Half Nelson). The latter holds his own in multiple, two-character scenes with the masterful portrayer of Hannibal Lecter, pacing Beachum’s reactions to Crawford’s polite provocations so everything spills onto his youthful face: torn loyalties, confusion, gullibility. Director Gregory Hoblit (
Hart’s War), still best-known for decades of distinguished television work (
NYPD Blue), brings the necessary intimacy to make the stars’ chemistry work effectively. His noirish atmosphere is a little over the top, sometimes pushing the audience to a level of expectation that the film isn’t really ready to deliver, but this, overall, is an enjoyable work.
--Tom Keogh
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Well done psychological court room thriller-great performances
Ryan Gosling's time to shine! He is very gifted in his subtle ability to convey emotion, and in this film he truly shines. Anthony Hopkins adds the seasoned exceptional performance of the offender, and throughout the movie, we are asked to solve a puzzle. It's a very stylish thriller, and worth a look!
Rating: -
Bad Police Investigation?
Crime scene investigation takes a black eye in this thriller. Although the movie is excellent and is a study of personality flaws in overly successful yuppies it is nonetheless a bit of a scam when it comes to evidence linking a criminal with a potential murder.
Physical evidence is good but is not absolutely the only requirement to convict in our system of justice. Indeed, I have witnessed murderers go to jail without any physical evidence presented. So we are somewhat mislead here in this picture. Also, although not generally known, all guns have identification numbers and in situations that are present here in the movie the officers would certainly know if their guns had been tampered in any way.
The relations of officers are also known, especially in their off duty amorous affairs by their co-workers and the chance that an investigator would show up at the scene and not reveal his relationship in a situation to a superior is highly unlikely.
Yet, this film is still tense and interesting despite all the police procedural flaws. Anthony Hopkins is at his Hannibal best and sinks his teeth into a young strapping successful professional prosecutor who believes he is God's gift to women and the best brain to ever come into the DA's office. We love to see Hopkins manipulate the smart aleck prosecutor, playing on his vanity and then skillfully destroy the young mans reputation before all of Los Angeles. Wonderful!
The movie is definitely worth a view and may require you to view it more than once to understand all that is going on. It is up there with the Illusionist, A Beautiful Mind and The Sixth Sense and Croupier in the plotting and it is certainly quite an entertaining movie.
Rating: -
How'd Done It?
`Fracture is a murder mystery of the how'd he do it genre not the who did it genre.
Hopkins shot his wife, we see this in the second scene. He even surrenders his gun to the police and freely confesses. Better yet the millionaire fool wants to represent himself at thrial. The easiest conviction since Carl Ferguson... Or is Hopkins really a criminal genius in disguise manipulating the system and everything has been according to his plan?
A young DA Ryan Gosling (you may remember him from `Murder By Numbers' a much better how'd he do it film but poorly cast.) is moving on up to the East Side. To a deluxe law firm in the sky. All he has to do is wrap up what seems like the easiest case of his career.
But problems quickly develop as Hopkins works his magic. The shooting did not happen as assumed. A brilliant mystery for the audience since we witnessed it first hand. Worse the investigating detective was having an affair and infatuated with the victim. It was this affair which led to the shooting.
Ryan Gosling becomes obsessed with solving the crime he knows Hopkins committed. Hopkins likewise becomes obsessed with Gosling. Stalking him long after the trial. Fracture is well written with high production quality and a haunting musical score. The plot intrigues the audience with how'd he do it? Especially since we saw it. What could we have seen wrong.
The big let down is the climax where Hopkins predictably confesses. I won't spoil it but the solution is anti-climactic. It turns out Hopkins isn't a genius, the cops are just morons. The resolution is also based on the false legal premise of trying someone twice for the same crime. Two separate charges cannot be brought at separate times for the same incident.
I did not like Ryan Gosling whom comes across an arrogant young punk. He breaths with his mouth open and has a bad southern accent. Why does Hollywood always have Californians with southern accents? It does not make them Matlock.
Spoiler warning!!! The ending is frankly unbelievable for several reasons.
1. Cops love guns. Surely the detective would have noticed they both used a Glock 21 .45.
2. The detective's finger prints would surely have shown up on Hopkins unused .45.
3. Gunpowder leaves a VERY distinctive smell. The detective would have noticed this sent and wondered why his gun smelled like gunpowder if he didn't use it.
4. Legal guns are NEVER UNUSED. The manufacturer is required by law to fire at least 2 test shots before it leaves the factory. In some states the manufacturer or dealer MUST give the 2 spent bullets and shells over to law enforcement as a way of entering them into a ballistics' database.
5. Hopkins tests negative for gun powder residue because he burns his shirt in his fireplace. The cops surely would have realized the fireplace was used and assumed he used it to destroy evidence.
6. Hopkins cannot be tried twice for the same incident any more than OJ Simpson can be tried for trespassing no Nicole's property. The only scenario where this might work is if he were tried in federal court. This is rarely done and only in political hotbeds such as trying Timothy McVeigh in state and federal court. Likewise with the Rodney King beating.
Rating: -
Entertaining, but gaping holes in logic
The film is entertaining, and it invites the mystery fan to figure out some disconnects, even via a flashback. Example: How did Ted know how to purchase the identical gun owned by the arresting cop? How can Ted be prosecuted at the end for murder, when to pull the plug, you need a court order? Doesn't he share guilt with the attending doctor and the judge? There are a few more, and you have to see the movie to see my points.
But there is a big BUT! The vast majority of new movies make less sense, and are not as well made. So the flaws I point out in continuity and logic, are really minor, when viewed in the big picture. Watch it and you will enjoy it.
Rating: 
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Edgy Gripping sharply scripted drama
What appears as a cut and dried murder twists and turns and has many clever and unexpected changes in direction. Great performances by Anthony Hopkins and matched by young Ryan Gosling. Dont miss this.
