Fracture

Often times a plot twist can make or a break a film. Some many times directors forgo so much in hopes that the big plot twist will save a movie. M. Night Shyamalan is probably the biggest victim to this curse. It worked for The 6th sense and Unbreakable( even if the plot twist here was obvious 10 minutes in), it worked to some degree in Signs and bombed miserably in The Village. Now, the village was a terrible movie, but what hurt the movie was that I picked the plot twists up about 10 minutes in and since the rest of the movie was horrible, there was nothing worth watching. In contrast, I picked up the big conclusion plot twist in this movie within the first 15 minutes, yet it didn't much matter because the movie was still incredibly engrossing. Anthony Hopkins in superb arrogant and creepy mode, stars as a man who shoots his wife. It is clear to us that he did it, he admits it, gives a confession and will be sentenced to life in prison, right? Not so fast!


What unfolds is a movie about what really happened and how can you prove it when none of the supposed evidence pans out. That is the plight of Ryan Gosling, the young district attorney charged with closing this case. The problem for him is that he already has a new job lined up at a giant law firm, so with one foot out of the door, he believes this case to be a slam dunk. The title of this film comes from a story Hopkins tells about how everyone has a breaking point and Gosling's breaking point is that he is a winner. After losing a tough day in court, Gosling tries to figure this case out and the movie goes from there. Now, if you are paying attention the resolution should come as no shock, but if you are paying attention none of that should matter because you are watching Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. Hopkins is one of the better actors living and Gosling is really becoming one of the better actors to emerge onto the scene since Ed Norton burst onto the scene. What Gosling does in each film is give his character a trait. He makes them all real by giving them something they always go back to, like we all do. In Half Nelson, his character always wiped his face with his tie and here he is constantly running his hands on his face when he is upset. It seems small, but it makes his characters real and if we buy into the characters in the film we can buy into the film


The director doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table concerning this type of film and yes, Hopkins has played this part before, and probably played it better, but the exchanges between he and Gosling pop with brilliant intensity. Both of these actors appear to be loving the exchange and it shows in the overall energy of the film. Another person who adds some great stuff is David Stratharn. He plays Goslings boss and while the part could easily be a thankless throwaway part, Stratharn finds a way to make it meaningful, passionate and understated. Some times watching great acting rise above a choppy script, a conventional story and a twist that is obvious early on, is all it takes to enjoy a movie. This was certainly the case here and it only makes me want to see Gosling work more.