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Fracture

Inspired, even if preposterous

By TOM MEEK | April 25, 2007

2.5 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for Fracture.

Gregory Hoblit delivered some hair-raising twists in Primal Fear — the gotchas in that deadly game of legal one-upsmanship maintained the tension right up to the final frame. Here he takes that template and tosses in two A-List actors, and the result is inspired, if preposterous. The intrigue begins when billionaire Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) pumps a bullet into the head of his adulterous wife (Embeth Davidtz). Enter Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), the hot-shot deputy DA with one foot out the door after landing a gig at a big-time law house. He’s got a signed confession in hand, so the case should be a slam dunk, but Ted (à la Hannibal Lecter) proves a cagy sod with many a card up his sleeve. So does Hoblit. The two actors spar masterfully (Ted of course represents himself in court); it’s manipulative artifice for sure, but the stacked aces make it a rapt jury-rigging.

Related: War zones, Psycho Santa, Untraceable, More

Topics: Reviews , Anthony Hopkins, Gregory Hoblit, Ryan Gosling, More

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