Hitchcock help further the genre of film noir and thrillers back in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's and early 70's. But even after his death some very few films have been able to capture and recreate his style and look, and Fracture is one of those films that while it pays homage to Hitchcock It creates it's own style and plot device using elements from Noir and elements from serial killer thrillers and you get this sinister and dark film.




"Fracture" is as twisty and as smart as Crime dramas come, it enjoys playing games with it's audience and with that it careens from one twist to the next playfully and skilfully taunting you with it's dark motives and sinister cat and mouse play between Hopkins and Gosling . Gosling and Hopkins help keep this film from being nothing more than a standard crime drama/thriller they are the key to this film success and the main reason that "Fracture" is a must see.





Anthony Hopkins is sinister, malicious, smart and cunning in his role as Ted Crawford. Hopkins gives us a run for our money and them some, his performance is key to making this film work with it's implausible plot but even with that in mind your more focused on the dogfight between him and Gosling. Ryan Gosling does some of his best work in this film as the tough as nail get ahead young lawyer Willy Beachum, Gosling's performance is not as edgy or as smart as Hopkins but that is easy to overlook due to the fact that he is so good at playing off Hopkins and at playing off his characters misfortune in the film, essentially there the perfect on screen foes.






"Fracture" is one of Gregory Hoblit's best and most well made films to date and in my opinion one of the best cat and mouse thrillers to come out in years. It's truly a brilliant film and will please if not blow you away. All in all "Fracture" is pure and fulfilling entertainment at it's very and most compelling best.

To be honest i enjoyed this movie primarily because of Anthony Hopkins. He just brings every scene to life he is in and you want to see more of him. His acting is top notch. The smug look he has on his face throughout the film and the portrayal of a clever, quick witted old man is amazing.
That is not to say Ryan Gosling is any less. As a character he is smart but rookish in nature who then goes on to mature when he meets his maker. Believe me he is more than just looks if you don't, check out Stay and The Notebook where he delivers a good knock.
The pace of the movie is very well handled, after all thrillers are meant to be handled well which if not, takes away the essence of thrill. The moment the two actors collide head on and events start to unfold you don't wanna' leave the sight of it. Hats off to the team behind Fracture for pulling out a winner.

Blessed with a smart script, stylish direction and first-rate performances by Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling, "Fracture" emerges as more than just the "Silence of the Lambs" knock-off it would appear to be on the surface.

In a role reminiscent of a somewhat toned-down (i.e. non-cannabilistic) Hannibal Lecter, Hopkins plays Ted Crawford, a wealthy L.A. businessman who shoots his wife when he discovers she's having an affair with a hostage negotiator. Crawford readily admits to the crime, giving the police a signed confession and insisting on defending himself in court. Gosling is Willy Beachum, a cocky, up-and-coming public prosecutor who takes the case believing it will be one last slam-dunk victory for him before he moves on to bigger and better things at a prestigious private law firm downtown. Beachum gets more than he bargained for, however, when the creepy and unnerving Crawford begins to play the legal system for all it's worth, tweaking the hotshot lawyer by outthinking him and continually knocking him off his game.

In less capable hands, "Fracture" could easily have been a standard-issue, twist-and-turn courtroom drama, but thanks to the talents involved, it transcends the limitations of its genre. Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers have written a screenplay filled with witty, crackling dialogue and sharply observed insights into the psyches of its two principal characters. Hopkins and Gosling play the cat-and-mouse game with conviction and gusto, while director Gregory Hoblit and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau use a smoothly gliding camera and a barely perceptible visual distortion at the edges of the picture to highlight the "fractured" nature of the piece. Moreover, the film has a nice L.A. feel to it, as it takes us to various interesting sites around town, including the ultra-modern, near-surrealistic Disney Concert Hall located in the heart of the city.

There is strong supporting work by David Straitharn ("Good Night, and Good Luck"), Billy Burke, Rosamund Pike and Fiona Shaw ("Mountains of the Moon"), among others, but it is Hopkins and Gosling, locked in a life-or-death battle of acumen and wits, who make "Fracture" a perpetually compelling and watchable courtroom thrille

Hopkins is the best ever.He plays a brilliant engineer murders his wife in cold blood, immediately giving himself up and confessing. But against such a wily opponent, what seemed like an open and shut case proves to be a lot harder to prove than the prosecutor first suspected. Rather like the old Columbo format, Fracture begins with the murder and the rest of the story involves the police trying to prove the murderer's guilt, and Hopkins' commanding performance as the gleefully smug and arrogant killer is the main reason to watch the film. Because of this and the interesting premise, the opening act to Fracture is very strong indeed, but the film soon descends into documenting the ups and downs of a douchey lawyer and his over-privileged would-be girlfriend who are both very difficult to give a crap about. As things progress it gets more and more mundane and when the big twist turns out to be something I took to be blatantly obvious right from the outset the whole thing reveals itself to be yet another glossy but by the numbers Hollywood courtroom drama. Hopkins is really the only thing worth watching about this film which begins with a bang but ends with a half-hearted whimper.This movie shows a true engineer master piece.He is a legend when it comes to acting and he knows it...Love this movie....the rating on this one is Priceless.

Hopkins is the best ever.He plays a brilliant engineer murders his wife in cold blood, immediately giving himself up and confessing. But against such a wily opponent, what seemed like an open and shut case proves to be a lot harder to prove than the prosecutor first suspected. Rather like the old Columbo format, Fracture begins with the murder and the rest of the story involves the police trying to prove the murderer's guilt, and Hopkins' commanding performance as the gleefully smug and arrogant killer is the main reason to watch the film. Because of this and the interesting premise, the opening act to Fracture is very strong indeed, but the film soon descends into documenting the ups and downs of a douchey lawyer and his over-privileged would-be girlfriend who are both very difficult to give a crap about. As things progress it gets more and more mundane and when the big twist turns out to be something I took to be blatantly obvious right from the outset the whole thing reveals itself to be yet another glossy but by the numbers Hollywood courtroom drama. Hopkins is really the only thing worth watching about this film which begins with a bang but ends with a half-hearted whimper.This movie shows a true engineer master piece.He is a legend when it comes to acting and he knows it...Love this movie....the rating on this one is Priceless.