| Product: |
Fracture (DVD) |
| Date: |
28.03.08 (109 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Nice twisting tale, cleverly thought out, Gosling and Hopkins
Disadvantages: A little bit unbelievable in places
Ever since Silence of The Lambs Anthony Hopkins has pretty much cornered the market in creepy, intellectual men of dubious morals. In Fracture he does the same again, Ted Crawford is a very clever man and we are immediately introduced to this fact when we see him solve the mystery of how a plane crashed in seconds, while other investigators all stand around examining the wreckage spread out in a hangar.
Next thing we know he has just cold bloodedly shot his wife in the head and is calmly waiting for the Police to arrive and arrest him.
Seemingly caught bang to rights he is not only incredibly calm but insists on defending himself. Is he in his right mind or is this all part of his plan?
Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) is a star public prosecutor, never fails to lose a case (though it is hinted that he chooses his cases very, very carefully) and is about to join a private firm for the big money. Crawford's case comes in as he is winding down his DA career. He doesn't want the case but it does look like an easy one... unfortunately for him his opponent is highly skilled and, as noted in the opening scene, extremely clever. His every move, from his arrest to his confession, is all planned to the most minute of details.
From a realism point of view this kind of detail relies on extraordinary luck and coincidence but from a film watching point of view this makes for some fabulous viewing.
You see an airtight case slowly fall apart as Ted brings his plans to fruition, seemingly having thought of every single contingency. There is a feeling of disbelief in the whole court process as you watch Crawford play with the rules with an easy contempt.
Fracture is a film you really do get caught up in, the plot is complex but filmed, shot and explained in such a way that you can easily follow it but still be puzzled. It isn't a movie that you would want to watch again and again but it certainly is one that you can sit, concentrate on and savour.
It is directed by Grogory Hoblit, who seems to have formed a career out of making fine, if unspectacular, crime based movies with a little twist to them, amongst them The Fallen, Frequency and the brand new Untraceable amongst them.
Hopkins is once again superb. He may be playing a more restrained Hannibal Lecter but his smile and eyes just fill you with the sense of a man playing games and enjoying it. Someone who knows he is superior to all around him and doesn't care who knows it. Up against this kind of grandstanding performance most actors would fade into the background, but Gosling is an actor who has already shown he is extremely talented (in Half Nelson) and acting opposite Hopkins brings out the very best of him.
Fracture is a terrific little thriller, it may be based around many improbabilities but when you are watching it everything is just perfect. Perfect casting, perfect script and cinematography that gives it a perfect look. It is very reminiscent of some of the best thrillers of the 90's, in fact it even feels like one of them, and that is no complaint.
It is a hugely enjoyable film that, for once in a Hollywood produced thriller, doesn't treat it viewers like idiots, it just entertains them.
Summary: A thinking mans thriller
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