Fracture (2007)

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

While the acting and production are top notch and the story is interesting, there are too many "why" questions that spoil the film.Other plot holes have been covered in previous reviews, but the one that got me was the gun switch. One of the first things detectives would have done is to have checked the serial number of the alleged murder weapon taken fro the husband (Hopkins). The police would have then found out that the gun belonged to the wife'e lover, the cop who came to the house AFTER the shooting. So, how could it have been the murder weapon?A prudent investigator would have then checked the s/n of the weapon in possession of the cop/lover and found out it matched the s/n of the weapon belonging to the husband. Then they would have conducted ballistic tests on both. Case closed.

It is surprising how even after all these years you can come across a murder mystery movie that you can't crack yourself. I did not see the end coming and that's what I liked about the movie. That and the fine acting of Anthony Hopkins (who shows shades of his Hannibal character here) and Ryan Gosling. The mystery is not too complicated and hinges on just a couple of simple points that you miss until they are revealed to you.

Reasonably interesting, but flawed, courtroom-drama.Engaging plot, though it is far from watertight. There are several holes, not least in the murderer's grand plan, in the way the Deputy District Attorney eventually unravels it and in how he ultimately puts the evidence together to prosecute him. Plus the ending can be seen a mile off - not the exact details, but the broader nature of it.Anthony Hopkins seems to be going through the motions in his role. It's as if he is trying to recreate Hannibal Lecter, and doing it half-heartedly. His accent is also quite perplexing, as it seems to change with each scene. I think he was supposed to be Irish, but the accent seems to come and go.Ryan Gosling is reasonably solid in his role. Good support from Rosamund Pike and David Strathairn.

This is just not a very good "thriller". For one, the "twist" near the end of the movie (attempted murder v/s murder) , you could see coming a mile away.The casting left much to be desired also. I believe Ryan Gosling is a terrific actor, but his performance in this film was poor. He came across as just a young, arrogant POS lawyer. His gum-chewing, "cooler-than-the-other-side-of-the-pillow" act was cringe-inducing. He was supposedly this young, hotshot lawyer, yet his actions were dumber than a fence post. The scene in the Judge's chambers with the Judge and Anthony Hopkins, after he was attacked in the courtroom by the Detective, showed a somewhat befuddled lawyer who had no idea what was going on. Really??? Thought you were the young high-powered hotshot. He threatens Hopkins with "Don't make me come across this table". Really??? Right after an assault in the courtroom, this is all he can think of to say? In front of the Judge? Really??? I could be wrong, but do lawyers make threats that they can't actually follow through on, if need be? "Don't make me come across this table" sounds like a threat in a barroom between 2 construction workers. I doubt if any judge would permit something like that in chambers between 2 opposing counsel, and a young, hotshot should have known that was inappropriate.The whole "find the gun" charade was just tiresome. The Detective told him that they had gone through the house 3 times...these are knowledgeable, experienced police and forensics people. There IS NO GUN IN THE HOUSE! Have as many temper tantrums as you like...Treating the detective and his people like mis-behaving children will not help, and shows you are no hotshot. It's a law...you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, but you're going to force this Detective's nose into the dirt until he shits a gun? Nice hotshot lawyering there, slick.There was a decent idea for a movie here, but this was incredibly mis-handled, and Ryan Gosling completely misplayed the lawyer.I give it a 3 because of Anthony Hopkins performance. He was a completely unlikable, slimy snake, and he seemed to relish the role.Otherwise, this was just poorly written, and poorly made. The casting of Gosling was a mistake.