FRACTURE (2007) - Movie Review

Director: Gregory Hoblit
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davidtz, Billy Burke, Cliff Curtis, Fiona Shaw, Bob Gunton, Xander Berkeley, Zoe Kazan
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Writer: Daniel Pyne, Glenn Gers
Runtime: 113 min
Rated: Rated R for language and some violent content
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling star in the dramatic thriller Fracture. When a meticulous structural engineer (Hopkins) is found innocent of the attempted murder of his wife (Embeth Davidtz), the young district attorney (Gosling) who is prosecuting him becomes a crusader for justice. Fracture is packed with twists and turns that weave in and out of the courtroom as the pair try to outwit each other. The film features an outstanding supporting cast that includes Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) and Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice).

Review:

Gregory Hoblit is a master of the legal drama and police procedural, mixing these well-worn forms of entertainment with other genres like horror, thriller, sci-fi or war. His resume includes films like "Primal Fear", "Fallen", "Frequency" or "Hart's War". The psychological legal thriller "Fracture", one of his last feature films, fits nicely into his body of work as an intelligent and fresh take on the same old courtroom/procedural routines.

It's not a whodunnit, because from the very beginning we see Anthony Hopkins' Ted Crawford murder his wife in cold blood. Ted is an aeronautical engineer who, as he himself confesses later on, has an almost superhuman ability to detect flaws and vulnerabilities in any construct. Which is why the case against him is far from a slam dunk despite the fact that the prosecution has a signed confession and a murder weapon. What could go wrong ? A lot, in fact.

Enter hotshot deputy district attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), who is on his way out to a cushy job at a big law firm, the kind where everybody has a middle initial in their name, as his boss, played by David Strathairn, tells him. Willy is overconfident and arrogant, which makes him the perfect target for Ted's manipulative scheming. Can the young attorney find a way out of the maze Ted has constructed for him and nail the conviction ? Or will he lose everything in the pursuit of justice ?

Of course, there's a degree of implausibility involved, but the plot mostly makes sense, which is pretty rare these days. Anyway, when you have two great actors verbally dueling on screen, you will forgive any gaping plot hole, and Hoblit is a virtuoso at getting the most out of his actors. Hopkins is chilling and intimidating on an intellectual level in a performance that echoes Hannibal Lecter, but a lot more nuanced. Gosling's performance is charming and intense, and when the two actors share the same space on screen it's like the "Heat" of legal thrillers. It's actually impressive seeing an actor as young as Gosling hold his own against a titan of cinema. And thankfully the writing doesn't betray their talent and gives them strong characters and snappy dialogue.

As far as production values go, "Fracture" is not an expensive movie, costing only $10 million to produce, but it looks and sounds better than many of the more expensive movies made today. Scenes are dynamic and beautifully lit thanks to cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau ("Creed III"), the art direction gives the courtroom scenes a realistic look, and the score by Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna adds a note of elegance to the suspense and drama on screen.

"Fracture" is one of those rare psychological thrillers that knows how to be clever, manipulative and thrilling at the same time. Tense and surprising at every turn, and bolstered by a pair of outstanding performances, it's a Hitchcockian cat-and-mouse game for a modern audience that I can heartily recommend to anyone.

SCORE: 8/10