Fracture- review
August 9th 2007 07:48
A stock standard legal procedural drama, which would have faded into obscurity, or suffered the fate of being a typical Law and Order episode, if it were not for the welcome (if fleeting) presence of decorated thespian Sir Anthony Hopkins. Here, the esteemed elder statesman of acting virtually reprises his famous role of serial killer Hannibal Lecter in all but name. The character plays the same ‘cat and mouse’ psychology games, and conveys the same darkly comic elements in his fantastic vocal delivery. Although he said things that would be distinctly non-humorous if uttered by any other performer (I shot my wife in the head); Hopkins fully succeeded in making the audience unsure as to their intended allegiances towards this person. Should we like him, or hate him? He excels at playing charming, suave, confident murderers. Casting can really make or break a movie. In the hands of any lesser thesp, Fracture would perhaps have collapsed under the crushing weight of its own legal mumbo-jumbo. It is almost worth the price of admission to see Anthony Hopkins doing his archetypal schtick. But he is more of a supporting lead. For the predominant portion of the film, we follow the story of lawyer Willy Beechman (Ryan Gosling, in not as noteworthy a performance) as he desperately tries to convict Hopkins of the attempted murder charge he so obviously is guilty of. The audience follows the cat and mouse games of these two intelligent and resourceful individuals as they try and outwit each other.
The ending of the film, however, did not completely satisfy me. I normally pride myself on not giving away the ending of a movie, but in this case I believe I will make an exception because there is no ending to reveal. We simply did not get to see if Hopkins got away with murder, or was prosecuted. We are left to assume he did not get let off.
Forgive me for being somewhat of a traditionalist, but I was always taught that a story has a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end. I do not mind being given food for additional thought, but the teensy tiny plate of hors d’oeuvres served up by the screenwriters at the denouement of this film left me wanting.
If you’re a big Hopkins devotee, go and see it by all means. He is by far the best part of this movie. In fact, he IS this movie. He brings a great deal of charisma and effortless cool to this role, and essentially owns the film. He shows the upstart Gosling who’s boss. But don’t expect anything remarkably groundbreaking here.
The ending of the film, however, did not completely satisfy me. I normally pride myself on not giving away the ending of a movie, but in this case I believe I will make an exception because there is no ending to reveal. We simply did not get to see if Hopkins got away with murder, or was prosecuted. We are left to assume he did not get let off.
Forgive me for being somewhat of a traditionalist, but I was always taught that a story has a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end. I do not mind being given food for additional thought, but the teensy tiny plate of hors d’oeuvres served up by the screenwriters at the denouement of this film left me wanting.
If you’re a big Hopkins devotee, go and see it by all means. He is by far the best part of this movie. In fact, he IS this movie. He brings a great deal of charisma and effortless cool to this role, and essentially owns the film. He shows the upstart Gosling who’s boss. But don’t expect anything remarkably groundbreaking here.
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