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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Brand: Warner Brothers EAN: 0794043110405 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC Label: New Line Home Video Manufacturer: New Line Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: New Line Home Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 14, 2007 Running Time: 113 minutes Studio: New Line Home Video Theatrical Release Date: April 20, 2007 Sales Rank: 14383 MPN: TRNDN11040D
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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - 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 ... Read More
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 ... Read More
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. ... Read More
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 ... Read More
Rating: - 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.
- Well done psychological court room thriller-great performances
- Edgy Gripping sharply scripted drama