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April 19, 2007

Online Exclusive

Movie Review

Crack the Fracture

Anthony Hopkins is in top form in this legal battle

Story by: Rueben Gonzales

Scene critic

Not every egg is impeccable, not every marble perfectly smooth.

Even when things look flawless, there’s always a weak point.

The flaw finder in Fracture, opening Friday, is the talented Anthony Hopkins. He once again proves that even the most mundane recycled murder plot can be transformed into an interesting battle of the wits.

This two-hour criminal-court case, with its large supply of legal jargon and Ryan Gosling’s country-born, new-to-the-city district-attorney accent, is a surprisingly good movie.

Hopkins does a great job doing what he does best — playing the genius. He gets under the skin of Gosling’s character and begins his mind games in a court battle that leaves the judge and Gosling baffled.

The only thing that sets this movie back is the odd mini-love drama between Gosling’s character and Rosamund Pike’s vapid Nikki. An easily disposable side plot, director Gregory Hoblit could have made room for more cat-and-mouse play between Hopkins and Gosling than trying to add symbolic fodder using Pike and Embeth Davidtz, who plays the victim and wife of Hopkins’ character.

Rather than go full-force into a straight murder case, Gosling’s character deals with an inner struggle of wealth and power versus fighting for truth and justice. Though somewhat cliché, it’s not wasted, helping build tension among all the characters.

Over all, Fracture is worth the night out. It’s well-rounded in its cinematography, satisfying script-wise, and pays close attention to detail.

Nothing less than what you would expect from Hopkins.