Review: Hopkins, Gosling make dynamic pair in ‘Fracture’

Directed by: Gregory Hoblit

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davidtz, Billy Burke

Rated: R

“Fracture” is billed as a “mystery/thriller,” and it qualifies.

It’s a thriller, to be sure, and a mystery as well. But it’s not a typical “whodunit” murder mystery. As was the formula in the brilliant “Columbo” TV series, there’s never a question in this film as to who did it. We know that and the motive and nearly every minute detail within the first 10 minutes of the film. The mystery posed is how are the authorities – in this case an upwardly mobile assistant prosecuting attorney – going to pin it on the perpetrator.

The premise makes for good viewing, and “Fracture” is elevated by the performances of its two main actors, Sir Anthony Hopkins ¬– one of the premiere senior statesmen of film – and the young Ryan Gosling.

Director Gregory Hoblit mined similar territory previously in his 1996 courtroom thriller “Primal Fear.” That movie teamed the veteran Richard Gere with then-newcomer Edward Norton and featured a chilling twist at the finale. The performance made Norton a star and gave Gere a much-needed career boost, too.

Anthony Hopkins owns that rare commodity that every actor desires. He manages to fuse an immediate connection with the audience. From a creepy performance as the psychotic ventriloquist having trouble with his dummy in “Magic,” to his portrayal of everyone’s favorite serial killer/cannibal, Hannibal Lecter, in “Silence of the Lambs,” Hopkins has managed to garner audience sympathy portraying some of the scariest villains ever committed to film.

He does much of the same here as Ted Crawford, a man who loves his younger wife but simply can’t put up with her extramarital flings. That anyone close to Crawford would think they could put anything over on him is a mystery in itself.

Crawford owns a high-tech company that specializes in analyzing structural damage in plane crashes and other such mechanical disasters. He is cocksure and seems to be right in his minute analysis in every instance. He relates a story of when he was a kid, candling eggs on his grandfather’s farm. The man was surprised when he came back to find that young Ted had some 300 eggs in the bucket meant for ones deemed imperfect. The boy could see the smallest of imperfections and simply could not let them pass.

Crawford, insane with jealousy and sure of the utter perfection of his plan, shoots his wife in the face. The police come and he’s arrested. His wife doesn’t die but is in a coma, on life support.

This fact becomes a wrinkle in an otherwise well-thought plot.

Gosling plays Willy Beachum, a prosecutor who is about to move into the private sector after serving (with a 97 percent conviction rate) in the district attorney’s office. He takes this case – with a signed confession and a weapon, making it seem like a “slam-dunk” – for his last hurrah. His boss, Joe Lobuto (the always great David Strathairn) warns him not to get too complacent here.

We find out soon enough that Lobuto’s admonitions are well-founded.

It’s true there is a signed confession. And a weapon.

But when Crawford – who is acting as his own mild-mannered attorney – brings up the fact that the officer on the scene that day, and later present during the questioning, was having an affair with Crawford’s wife, things change. Add to that the fact that while the confiscated weapon did belong to Crawford – and was of the same caliber as the bullet that put his wife in her coma – it actually had never been fired.

The officer/romantic rival made the mistake of pummeling Crawford that day when he found out that the murder victim was also his paramour. They had never discussed their “other” lives and only met weekly at a local hotel. He was unaware of her true identity.

That he was beaten adds credence to Crawford’s story that the confession was coerced. The fact that the gun was unused means there is no physical evidence linking him to the crime. So it begins to look like a slam-dunk. But one for Crawford’s team.

Things get doubly bad for Beachum. The company he’s just signed on with is a high-profile law firm that can’t be embarrassed by their new draft pick screwing up the capper on his public service in such a high-profile case. They are ready to drop him before he’s even on board.

Gosling and Hopkins relish in their game of “I know that you know that I did it, but I know that you also know that you can’t prove it.”

Gosling holds his own as much as anyone can when sharing scenes with someone of Hopkins’ caliber.

There are some twists at the end and, true to what we’ve come to know as mainstream Hollywood moral justice, just desserts are finally served. You’ll have to see exactly how they are brought to the table for yourself.

“Fracture” is a good movie amidst the usual lackluster pre-summer stuff the studios decide to put out in April and May every year.

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.