Fracture (B or 3/4 stars)
'Fracture' is a slick crime drama directed by Gregory Hoblit. Structural engineer Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) realizes that his wife (Embeth Davidtz) is having an affair with an initially unidentifiable man. He follows the couple everywhere. He knows where the man lives; he knows where they make love, etc. Its twilight time, she returns to her million dollar ranch-styled home, & Ted is waiting there for her. At point blank range, he shoots her in the head with a 'gun' (attempting to kill her). He proceeds to pick up the casings, call 911, fire some random gunshots around the house, and lie in wait. The feds show up, and it just so happens that the main cop (Billy Burke) who enters the home is the man she is/was sleeping with!
Because he's emotionally invested, he freaks out upon seeing her limp body (though she's still hanging on), there's a scuffle, & guns are swapped. Enter assistant DA Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling, full of interesting acting ticks/choices) looking and acting like the hot shot he thinks he is, lounging in his office chair, about ready to accept an offer at a much more attractive job ... his last case appears to be Ted Crawford's. Simple over-&-out case, right? Ted shot his wife, a confession was entered, but there's a problem with the 'gun'. There's no murder weapon. But Willy thinks there's more to this screwball than meets the eye. Wanting justice, personal benefit, & revenge, he hopes to prosecute confidently and sort out this messy case. This all sets the stage for an entertaining, twisty, turny, courtroom duel which unravels at a painstaking pace.
The film starts strong. Gosling & Hopkins are great; particularly Gosling. I liked Rosamund Pike as Gosling's beautiful-&-brainy boss; their relationship is complex, to say the least. But as a film, on the whole, I wish there was a little more cat-&-mouse, less plot complication, & a more fluid conclusion. What starts as a fun, clever thriller, ends in a somewhat abrupt "what's happening?" conclusion. The last 10 minutes plays out just like the last 6 minutes of a basic Law & Order episode ... but in fast forward. And when a film convinces us for 95% of its duration that Ted's character is an evil genius, then it broadsides us by showing you his one COMPLETELY obvious/crucial mistake, it just makes you feel a tad cheated.
Most audiences will jive with the film when they leave the theater because they'll feel like they just saw something great, slick; but it's a magic trick, so to speak. It's like director Hoblit figured, "Attractive method actor, Ryan Gosling ... check! Lector-like Anthony Hopkins ... check! Awesome pairing! Witty dialogue ... check! Effective score, moody cinematography ... check! Somewhat preposterous plot ... oh, yeah, ummm, well, maybe the audience won't quite notice” {haha}. So while the MANY plot complications come together in the very end, it just felt a tad too abrupt for me. Interesting movie, though. It’s much better than most "original" scripts that come down the pike. I gotta give credit where it is due.
Because he's emotionally invested, he freaks out upon seeing her limp body (though she's still hanging on), there's a scuffle, & guns are swapped. Enter assistant DA Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling, full of interesting acting ticks/choices) looking and acting like the hot shot he thinks he is, lounging in his office chair, about ready to accept an offer at a much more attractive job ... his last case appears to be Ted Crawford's. Simple over-&-out case, right? Ted shot his wife, a confession was entered, but there's a problem with the 'gun'. There's no murder weapon. But Willy thinks there's more to this screwball than meets the eye. Wanting justice, personal benefit, & revenge, he hopes to prosecute confidently and sort out this messy case. This all sets the stage for an entertaining, twisty, turny, courtroom duel which unravels at a painstaking pace.
The film starts strong. Gosling & Hopkins are great; particularly Gosling. I liked Rosamund Pike as Gosling's beautiful-&-brainy boss; their relationship is complex, to say the least. But as a film, on the whole, I wish there was a little more cat-&-mouse, less plot complication, & a more fluid conclusion. What starts as a fun, clever thriller, ends in a somewhat abrupt "what's happening?" conclusion. The last 10 minutes plays out just like the last 6 minutes of a basic Law & Order episode ... but in fast forward. And when a film convinces us for 95% of its duration that Ted's character is an evil genius, then it broadsides us by showing you his one COMPLETELY obvious/crucial mistake, it just makes you feel a tad cheated.
Most audiences will jive with the film when they leave the theater because they'll feel like they just saw something great, slick; but it's a magic trick, so to speak. It's like director Hoblit figured, "Attractive method actor, Ryan Gosling ... check! Lector-like Anthony Hopkins ... check! Awesome pairing! Witty dialogue ... check! Effective score, moody cinematography ... check! Somewhat preposterous plot ... oh, yeah, ummm, well, maybe the audience won't quite notice” {haha}. So while the MANY plot complications come together in the very end, it just felt a tad too abrupt for me. Interesting movie, though. It’s much better than most "original" scripts that come down the pike. I gotta give credit where it is due.