'Fracture' is a cracking thriller

Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling face off against each other in this film with a complex plot that holds up to close scrutiny.

from the April 20, 2007 edition

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Hopkins and Gosling both clearly appreciate the high quality of badinage. Although Hopkins obviously has played a variation on this role before, his Ted is more playfully malevolent than Hannibal Lecter ever was. He's a cool customer with no visible cracks in his façade. In a way, he's his own best mechanical invention.

He doesn't fool Willy, though, which only adds to the prosecutor's mounting frustration. Willy is the first to recognize that Ted is setting everybody up. Ultimately, nailing him becomes Willy's crusade. He has to do the right thing, which, in the film's terms, is almost a contradiction in the sharky waters of lawyerdom.

And it's fun to see him stumble and sprint on his way to absolution. Gosling has been effective so far mostly in small independent films such as "Half Nelson," but he shows here that he can also carry a glossy Hollywood star vehicle with ease. There is a subplot involving Willy's prospective boss, a shiny blonde (Rosamund Pike), that doesn't really go anywhere interesting, and poor Embeth Davidtz, after her character is shot, spends all her screen time comatose.

On the other hand, the plot's many complications pretty much all add up, which is a rarity these days for a murder mystery. It's possible that audiences don't even care anymore if a film makes sense as long it's entertaining.

"Fracture" is both. Grade: A–

• Rated R for language and some violent content.

Sex/Nudity: 3 instances of innuendo. Violence: 5 scenes, including a shooting. Profanity: 29 expressions, mostly strong. Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: 6 scenes with drinking.

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