Getting away with murder is an all too commonly explored theme in modern cinema. However, legally getting away with murder is something different entirely. It’s the weaknesses that lie within the intricacies of criminal law, certain fractures which can be exploited by the cunning, that director Gregory Hoblit explores in his latest crime drama. As Anthony Hopkins’ character menacingly proclaims, “If you look closely enough, you’ll find everything has a weak spot” and despite its triumphs, Fracture is certainly no exception to such an adage.
Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant and wealthy structural engineer, shoots his disloyal wife in cold blood in their luxurious Los Angeles house. Having signed a confession and opting to represent himself, proving Crawford’s guilt to the jury looked to be an effortless process. Especially when young, upcoming lawyer Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) is the prosecutor, taking on one last case for the District Attorney’s office before starting his career as a highly paid corporate lawyer. However, with a 97% success rate in the courtroom, Willy’s biggest weakness is his fear of losing. Unfortunately for justice’s sake, Crawford knows that it’s this weakness that is the most crucial fracture of them all.
Ryan Gosling struggles to hold himself together as the prosecutor.
Hoblit certainly knows his way around a courtroom, having tackled the genre in 1996′s Primal Fear and in his many directorial additions to various TV crime dramas. Screenwriters Daniel Pyne and Glen Gers show a noticeable appreciation of the art of law in Fracture, whilst also managing to avoid bloating the script with too much law jargon that would frightened off the casual movie goer. Despite managing to make the courtroom approachable, Hoblit does struggle when it comes to keeeping it consistently engaging. Since the question of ‘whodunit’ is stripped from the equation within the opening minutes, all hope of creating an engrossing narrative is placed on Hoblit’s ability to craft an unnervingly credible scenario. It’s called “law” for a reason; derived from the divine will of God, it’s a concrete aspect of our society that we all are unequivocally required to abide by in order to retain our freedom. If you intend to explore such a certainty, it becomes imperative that it is done believably in order for it to play on our inherit fears that something so resolute and irrevocable can falter and cause blatant injustice. Despite the tensely intriguing opening act, such a fear is never established in its audience as the narrative fails to be convincing. Crawford’s crime relies too heavily on improbable coincidence to make it achievably faultless. Whilst there are moments of surprise and intrigue throughout the film, they seldom resonate with the poignancy that one would expect when such a glaring case of decadence is present.
Hopkins has become synonymous with this setting.
However, that’s not to say Fracture isn’t without its accomplishments. The courtroom power play between Hopkins and Gosling is as taught as it gets, almost to the point where the narrative shortcomings of the film seem inconsequential. Hopkins is perfect for the role; drawing from his legendary performance as the devilish Hannibal Lecter, whilst adding a dash of humanity and charm to such brooding brutality. He’s undeniably a lawyers worst nightmare; brilliant, cunning, charming and filthy rich. With this in mind, Ryan Gosling does exceptionally well as the hotshot lawyer determined as anything to bring the hammer of justice down on Crawford’s parade. He convincingly depicts Beachum’s psychological demise; from being cocky and competent to powerless, desperate and morally torn. The casting isn’t entirely a success story. Beachum’s future boss Nikki, portrayed by a rather listless Rosamund Pike, is presumably tacked onto the story to provide some sort of romance in what would otherwise be a mostly sterile law drama. It’s totally disposable screen time where, instead of providing the story with extra vigour, takes away momentum from the primary plot.
Conclusion:
Fracture breaks apart as soon as the shortcomings of the American judiciary system are implausibly depicted, leaving the pieces to be picked up by driving performances from Gosling and Hopkins. Aside from the aid of some early scenes of anxious intrigue, their courtroom power struggle holds this Fractured drama together.
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