Fracture (2007)
Directed by Gregory Hoblit
A husband is on trial for the attempted murder of his wife, in what is seemingly an open/shut case for the ambitious district attorney trying to put him away. However, there are surprises for both around every corner, and, as a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse is played out, each must manipulate and outwit the other.
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What critics say influenced Fracture
Hoblit ("Primal Fear," "Hart's War") tries hard not to hand us any easy answers, to keep us guessing until the end.
After focusing on a defense attorney and a client of questionable innocence in 1996's "Primal Fear," helmer Gregory Hoblit here pits a prosecutor against a defendant who's guilty as sin from the get-go.
While director Gregory Hoblit's Primal Fear, an earlier and highly successful foray into a gifted lawyer's gnarly entanglement with a thoroughly evil adversary, had a much higher pulse rate and shock quotient, his smart and visually satisfying Fracture succeeds in more quiet but no less engaging ways.
What sets this film apart is that it is expertly directed by Gregory Hoblit (who made his directing debut with an exceptional conversion of William Diehl�s bestselling novel, Primal Fear to the screen in 1996).
Hoblit made his reputation with Primal Fear, a similarly themed courtroom cat-and-mouse affair with a cocky lawyer and an even cockier defendant.
Hoblit, whose debut film was “ Primal Fear ,” poured over 100 scripts before consenting to direct “Fracture”.
By contrast, the performance by Hopkins as Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” only consisted of 16 minutes of screen time.
This tasty sequence is the first but not the only sign of the movie's above-average intelligence - there's some choice dialogue, much of it centered on the arc of Gosling's character, a brainy yokel who makes it in the big city by being smart and underestimated (the way Hopkins dresses him down and manipulates him is a lot like Lecter's interplay with Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs").
After all, the veteran actor won his Oscar 15 years ago for a similar role in "The Silence of the Lambs" the charming psychopath Hannibal Lecter (a character he also reprised in two sequels).
When an actor becomes so imperial in evil authority as Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs,” that can distort his career.
Hopkins and Gosling are two of the best actors of their respective generations, and if "Fracture" had concentrated on the crime-solving and battle of wits, it would have deserved some of the inevitable comparisons with "The Silence of the Lambs."
Ryan Gosling plays hotshot assistant district attorney Willy Beachum, whose poker buddies must be Tom Cruise in "The Firm" and Keanu Reeves in "The Devil's Advocate."
Elderly engineer Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) is on trial for the attempted murder of his wife, Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz, "Junebug"), in their Southern California luxury home.
Strathairn isn't bad as the boss who knows he can't stop his star employee from leaving but has to push him to take Crawford's case seriously, but it's a shame that a talented actress like Embeth Davis ("Junebug") is wasted in a role that has her lying in a coma for the entire movie.
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Director Gregory Hoblit (of "Primal Fear" and "Frequency") keeps it all taut, fascinating, both dramatic and humorous.
Directed by Gregory Hoblit (2000's under-appreciated "Frequency"), "Fracture" wisely shows us Ted's initial actions from a neutral point of view.
Hopkins and co-star Ryan Gosling get lively, challenging material to work with in the film from director Gregory Hoblit ("Primal Fear," "Frequency"), with a script from Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers.
The slick thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit ("Fallen," "Frequency") and starring a younger and older actor both in their primes is both served well and robbed by a script (Glenn Gers and Daniel Pyne, "The Manchurian Candidate" remake) that gives the actors chewy dialogue but a weak story structure.
They match and clash perfectly in this surprisingly sharp, mature mystery from director Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear, Frequency , Hart's War ).
This becomes entirely unsurprising after a quick perusal of director Gregory Hoblit's CV: stints with L.A. Law and NYPD Blue , * and films like Fallen and Frequency (the man likes his f-words).
I couldnt help thinking how much better this thriller would have been with someone like Joshua Jackson ( Aurora Borealis ) in this role.
And Hopkins, okay, is mostly insane, but still...I mean, I can understand what makes All the President's Men appealing in the abstract, but I do not understand what makes an actor who can't really need the money to read a script like this one and say, "Good lord, I want to be a part of this project!"
The script by Daniel Pyne (a Miami Vice TV vet before penning Any Given Sunday and The Manchurian Candidate) and Glenn Gers would probably have benefited from the excision of some of the filmâs unnecessary bits of business.
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Yet in "Fracture" he reminds me a lot of Edward Norton in "Down in the Valley" or "The 25th Hour," where you're not quite sure about him, not quite certain you're on his side or ever will be because there's always something in the guy's personality, just under the surface, that makes him seem like there's more going on than meets the eye, and it might not be very nice.
Ryan Gosling plays hotshot assistant district attorney Willy Beachum, whose poker buddies must be Tom Cruise in "The Firm" and Keanu Reeves in "The Devil's Advocate."