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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
Fracture
Do you remember when Rubik’s Cubes came out and you would twist and twist the box and finally you thought you just about had all the colors in their right places only to turn it over and find out that some colors were out of place? Well, that’s the feeling Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) gets while prosecuting what he thought was an open and shut attempted murder case. Every time Willy thinks he has the whole thing wrapped up, he discovers a chink in his case. But those chinks are not random. They are put there deliberately by the accused, Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins), who cunningly decides to represent himself in court.
When Crawford discovers his wife is having an affair, he spins an intricate web of incidents before shooting her. All his cunning and plotting are meant to come into play during the trial because he knows he is going to be accused of shooting her. As a matter of fact, he tells the police that he shot his wife. This man is highly intelligent and has thought through every detail from start to finish and everything comes into play once the trial begins.
Beachum, a rising young attorney, starts the case thinking that it is an easy win. Open and shut. This is going to be his last case as a prosecutor. He is moving on to a big law firm – the kind where he must wear a tux for special occasions. He is an arrogant fellow with his sights set on a big office and all the perks afforded the associates at this fancy law firm. So he doesn’t spend as much time and energy on the facts of this case as he normally would.
Soon Beachum discovers that Crawford is manipulating him and his case. His ego and his desire to put this man away slowly take over and he begins to put more energy into the case and less thought about his new job. Crawford plays a cat and mouse game, all the while grinning with the knowledge that he has his freedom in the bag. After all his careful plotting and set ups, he knows he cannot be tied to the shooting with any evidence.
Beachum finds out his desire for justice is deeper than he thought. He knows he can find a flaw – or fracture – in Crawford’s story somewhere. Somewhere there is the evidence to connect the man with the act. But who is smarter? Crawford and Beachum are intelligent adversaries in this battle of wits.
Fracture is a psychological drama that will have audiences hooked from the beginning. Anthony Hopkins turns in another brilliant performance.
© 2007 Francine Brokaw
Photos © NewLine Cinema. All Rights Reserved.
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