Anthony Hopkins stars as Theodore Crawford, a seemingly mensa-esq engineer who squares off against DDA William Beachum (Ryan Gosling of The Notebook) in this courtroom thriller.

Crawford discovers that his wife is engaged in an adulterous affair with another man. Driven to the edge of rage, though this end point is never justified on screen, Crawford shoots his wife point-blank, sending her into a coma. Lead investigator and the object of Jennifer Crawford’s adulterous lust, Lt. Robert Nunally (Billy Burke), responds to the distress call, and arrests Crawford on attempted murder charges. Note this as plot one.

Plot two involves Beachum’s current career move from public to private sector law, and his clearing of public cases from his docket. The final case: Represent the People vs. Crawford. There is a confession, witnesses and a weapon; an easy win.

As these two plots intertwine, the case isn’t as open/shut as Beachum had hoped, and the slick lawyer is involved in a white elephant hunt for the murder weapon. The gun, the confession, all the evidence proves faulty, and are therefore inadmissible in court.

Throughout, Beachum is presented as a fast-talking and smooth attorney. At one point we find his new job is a result of quick wit in the courtroom. At another, we see him tempted by Nunally to tamper with a gun for a conviction. These inner struggles add a level of personality to the characters, and inflate the experience achieved from Fracture.

As the action continues, Fracture delivers a truly entertaining and edgy story. The development produces a minor sense of panic within the viewer as actions occur opposite to our anticipation. This engages the audience and allows the movie to exist on another level.

And then the movie ends.

Director Gregory Hoblit cheats the audience of the happy ending, as the final sequence of events falls flat in terms of the rest of the movie. It is simply not enough to state what happens when the entire film builds to a visual finale. Yet, in some sense, the sudden ending is fitting, ensuring the near two hour run time doesn’t become slow and hard to finish.

My thoughts: If you enjoy court based movies like THE FIRM and RUNAWAY JURY, Fracture is well-worth your viewing pleasure.

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