Fracture (2007/I)

Director:

Gregory Hoblit

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Pyne (screenplay) and
Glenn Gers (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

If you look close enough, you'll find everyone has a weak spot.

Plot:

An attorney intent on climbing the career ladder toward success, finds an unlikely opponent in a manipulative criminal he's trying to prosecute.

Plot Keywords:

Engineer | Firm | Court | Prosecutor | Trial

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Ted Crawford
Ryan Gosling	...	Willy Beachum
David Strathairn	...	DA Joe Lobruto
Rosamund Pike	...	Nikki Gardner
Embeth Davidtz	...	Jennifer Crawford
Billy Burke	...	Lt. Robert 'Rob' 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

Also Known As:

Das perfekte Verbrechen (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violent content.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Singapore:PG | USA:R (certificate #43317) | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12 | Denmark:15 | Brazil:14 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Italy:T | Malaysia:U | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Norway:15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Dijon Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Near the end, the case Beachum reviews regarding double jeopardy is People v. Bivens, 282 Cal. Rptr. 438, 231 Cal. App. 3d (Cal. Ct. App., 1991). Under Bivens, California can prosecute Crawford for murder, even though it arises out of the same transaction as a defendant's prior case.

Goofs:

Factual errors: All modern guns are test fired at the factory after assembly, to ensure they fire accurately and function correctly. Even if said gun was never fired by the owner, there is no such thing as a gun that has "never been fired".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Crawford's Secretary: The NTSB guys are here about that bulkhead problem.
Ted Crawford: OK, thanks.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Look Closely: The Making of 'Fracture' (#14.9)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Nite Becomes Day

Classy, Entertaining Battle-Of-Wits Film

If you like courtroom dramas, appreciate excellent acting and an expertly-filmed movie this is for you. Only once, I think, have I ever proclaimed something "best movie of the year" and all that, because it's all too subjective and also a cliché but that's how I feel about this movie unless something better comes along the last few months of 2007.

This is just a fabulous movie with Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling playing battling characters who engage in a battle of wits. Hopkins plays a husband who discovers his wife having an affair, shoots her, confesses the same night and then has things cleverly arranged where it's almost impossible to convict him. Gosling plays a young, hotshot prosecuting attorney on his way to bigger and better things with a change of scenery to corporate law but gets stuck with this open-and-shut case right before he switches firms. The trouble is, it's a lot more than he figured and he isn't used to losing. Hopkins knows this, of course, and plays on his vanity.

Gosling evolves from a me-only lawyer to someone who really wants justice, even if it costs him. Both characters are cocky and smart and the twists and turns just add to the fun.

I enjoyed watching all the actors performances and was very impressed. The camera-work by Director Of Photography Kramer Morgenthau should also be recognized, along with director Gregory Hoblit, who seems to direct very entertaining films ("Frequency," "Fallen," etc.)

I could have watched this story unfold for another two hours and would have been happy to do so, am I'm not one to sit still for long periods these days. That's how good this was....just Grade A film-making and storytelling.