Looking Closer's Film Forum: "Fracture"

Fracture

Ryan Gosling. Anthony Hopkins. You would think those would be two great reasons to run out and see Fracture. And yet, the current reviews have discouraged me from rushing out to see it.

See for yourself…

In The National Review, Peter Suderman says it’s “another plodding exercise in legal proceedings and implausibly mangled plotlines. Primal Fear and Fallen were at least diverting, but this time around, Hoblit and his writers didn’t even have the decency to learn why the genre works the way it does. They’ve simply stuffed their film with familiar scenes: the one where the hero gets frustrated and throws something on his desk, the one where the hero’s work causes trouble in his love life, the one where the creepy killer coyly teases the hero with clues; and countless others you’ve no doubt seen since you were old enough to stay up and watch L.A. Law. One of Hopkins’s pointless tics is that he builds large, needlessly complex contraptions that move steel balls around in circles. When one of the characters asks another what, exactly, it is, he gets this hapless reply: “It’s… a machine. It does… stuff.” This seems to be a fairly accurate representation of the writers’ approach to the screenplay.”

Greg Wright (Past the Popcorn) isn’t terribly impressed either. “Based on the audience reaction at the screening I attended, I’d say that Hoblit not only accomplished exactly what he wanted with Fracture—I’d also say that audiences will probably find just what they need here, too. Still, I found Fracture, entertaining though it may be, just a little too smart in the pants for its own good.”

At CT Movies, Todd Hertz writes, “What fuels the movie is that it’s crafted well, and not just the acting. The directing, musical score and cinematography are top notch, making Fracture a thinking thriller where the thrills are supplied largely by scenes of talking. Still, some will be bored by this; while the beginning simmers and the ending triumphantly trots across the finish line, the middle drags because the screenplay loses its story focus.”