Most say nothing in life is perfect. Even if you think you have it planned out some things may still go astray, there is always a “Fracture”.
Anthony Hopkins plays the role Ted Crawford in this psychological and dramatic thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit. He plays an eloquent mastermind, who starts the movie by shooting his wife, after catching her with another man.
Someone hears the shot and soon police surround his house. Crawford comes out and confesses to the murder and is arrested. Ironically, when the cops are called to his house, the guy having the affair with his wife ends up getting a call there and not knowing whose house it was. Crawford’s wife had never told the man she was having an affair with, her last name or where she lived, which is kind of strange.
The man having the affair with Crawford’s wife in the movies name is Rob Nunally played by Billy Burke. Rob Nunally saw the women he had been having an affair with, the women he loved, dying on the floor in front of him from a bullet wound. After this he was destined to put Hopkins away.
Crawford is charged with ‘attempted’ murder, because his wife is still alive during the trial but hooked up to a life machine. He pleads not guilty to the murder charge and wants to take the trial to court and defend himself.
This is where we are introduced to Ryan Gosling, who plays Will Beachum, the assistant DA prosecuting against Hopkins.
Crawford takes a likening to the young gentlemen. During the trial Crawford doodles on paper and never objects or asks any witness’s any questions, which is really quite humorous.
Once Nunally gets on the witness stand, Crawford lets everyone know he was sleeping with his wife. Nunally is blown away and shocked. He didn’t even know Crawford knew of this. This blows his testimony out of the water as the courtroom gasps.
Meanwhile no one is able to find the murder weapon at Crawford’s house after multiple searches, making there no strong evidence to convict him. This is a mind trip for the audience because we saw him shoot his wife in the beginning with a gun.
During this trial Beachum is being promoted to a new law firm and this trial starts to weigh heavily on his job. Nunally wants to stage a gun in his house to make sure Crawford gets put away. This is pretty crazy because Beachum has to decide whether or not he should present this fake evidence.
Beachum realizes there is not enough evidence and if he doesn’t present new evidence, which Nunally pressures him to, Crawford will be acquitted from the trial. Crawford’s plan is unfolding just as he wanted it to.
Beachum ruins his chance at his new job and lets a criminal off free.
The first place Crawford goes when he is released from the courtroom is to see his wife in the hospital and has her taken off life support. Little does Crawford know that once she dies they can remove the bullet from her brain and it will no longer be an attempted murder.
All these factors end up making a disarray of what happens in the ending.
This movie was pretty good, it was full of twists and turns and Athony Hopkins does a great performance in his role, no other actor could have played this like he does.
Gregory Hoblit has also directed “Fallen” and “Frequency.” “Fracture” is written by Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers. The film was shot on location in Los Angeles.