Anthony Hopkins sure can play one mean sociopath . . .
. . . and in
Fracture he does just that.
Himself the victim of an adulterous wife (Embeth Davidtz), Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) decides to take revenge on both his wife and her lover – Lt. Robert Nunally (Billy Burke). As I mentioned before Ted is a bit of a sociopath so he takes his revenge as only a sociopath can –and believe you me, you do not want to be on the receiving end of that whipping post.
After Ted has blatantly attempted to murder his wife, Nunally is called to the scene as he is the negotiator for the police department. Conveniently unbeknownst to the Lieutenant, Ted has set up the scene so that the he will have to bear witness to his lover dying on the hardwood floor. You see, Nunally and Jennifer never bothered to exchange their real last names or let each other know where they lived. I suppose that added to the overall anonymity and excitement of their affair, but it also made compromising the crime scene all that much easier for Ted.
Enter stage left DDA Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), an up and coming lawyer who was just about on his way to joining the ranks of one of the most distinguished law firms in the city. Unfortunately for him, he is unable to leave well enough alone once he gets himself involved in the Crawford case. He ends up risking everything to prove that Ted (whom everyone at first thinks must be a nutcase for wanting to defend himself) truly did attempt to murder his wife. The signed confession didn't quite end up being enough - as I said before, Ted is a sociopath and he is also a smart old bird who set up the situation so that it would be easy enough for him to tear it down when he so chose.
This was an okay movie. I always love Anthony Hopkins as the super intelligent criminal. However, this film lacked a bit especially in the ending. I had a huge portion of it figured out right from the beginning which just ended up disappointing me when I was proved right. Ryan Gosling played the cocky DDA character just a bit to cocky for my liking and Billy Burke played his part just a bit too desperately as well.
I didn't quite get the need for the "relationship" between Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike) and Willy. It didn't fit and there was just no reason for it to be there. Other than I suppose for Willy to meet her dad, Judge Gardner (Bob Gunton) who tried to help Willy later in the film. That is really the only purpose I saw for the unrealistic relationship to take place. It was a pretty crappy reason as far as the film went if you ask me. They could have explained his knowing the judge in any number of ways.
At any rate, I found myself not loving Fracture but not hating it either. I'm not sure what kind of recommendation that is other than it really wasn't one but it wasn't not one either . . . you decide whether or not to watch it. This way I can't be held responsible if you are as disappointed as I was.
Fracture Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
Gregory Hoblit
Writing credits
Daniel Pyne
Glenn Gers
Daniel Pyne
Cast (in credits order)
Anthony Hopkins ... Theodore 'Ted' Crawford
Ryan Gosling ... DDA William 'Willy' Beachum
David Strathairn ... DA Joe Lobruto
Rosamund Pike ... Nikki Gardner
Embeth Davidtz ... Jennifer Crawford
Billy Burke ... Lt. Robert Nunally
Cliff Curtis ... Detective Flores
Fiona Shaw ... Judge Robinson
Bob Gunton ... Judge Gardner
Josh Stamberg ... Norman Foster
Xander Berkeley ... Judge Moran
Zoe Kazan ... Mona
Judith Scott ... Resident
Gary Cervantes ... Ciro (as Carlos Cervantes)
Petrea Burchard ... Dr. Marion Kang
Garz Chan ... Assistant Hotel Manager
Wendy Cutler ... Gladys
Larry Sullivan ... Lee Gardner
Valerie Dillman ... Peg Gardner
Gonzalo Menendez ... Uniform Cop
Vivica Genaux ... Opera Singer
Cooper Thornton ... Public Defender
Lyle Kanouse ... Messenger
Sandra Prosper ... Karla
Monica Garcia ... Crawford’s Secretary
Joe Spano ... Judge Joseph Pincus
Peter Breitmayer ... NTSB Guy
Mirron E. Willis ... Moran’s Bailiff
David Purdham ... Burt Wooton
John Littlefield ... Cop
Lou Reyes ... SWAT Medic
Rainy Kerwin ... Wooton Sims Receptionist
R.J. Chambers ... Bailiff
Eugene Collier ... Bailiff
Tom Virtue ... Attorney Apley
Gunter Simon ... Orderly
Frank Torres ... Orderly
Payton Koch ... Kid
Cooper Koch ... Kid
Sophie Hoblit ... Kid
Caroline Weinstock ... Kid
Alexander Weinstock ... Kid
Michael Khmurov ... Russian Man (as Michael Khmourov)
Julia Emelin ... Russian Woman
Yorgo Constantine ... Public Defender for the Russians
Alla Korot ... Russian Translator
Jeff Enden ... Detective
Kaily Smith ... Lobruto's Secretary
Retta ... Evidence Room Cop
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kate Clarke ... Mrs. Lee Gardner (uncredited)
Klatann Thomas ... Medical Technician (uncredited)
More Fracture Movie Reviews
Entertainment Weekly Movie Review of FractureFracture Movie Review and Information Page at The Internet Movie Database
