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Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davidtz ... see more see more... , Billy Burke , Cliff Curtis , Fiona Shaw , Bob Gunton , Josh Stamberg , Judith Scott , Xander Berkeley , Zoe Kazan , Carlos Cervantes , Petrea Burchard , Garz Chan , Wendy Cutler , Larry Sullivan , Valerie Dillman , Gonzalo Menendez , Vivica Genaux , Cooper Thornton , Lyle Kanouse , Sandra Prosper , Monica García , Joe Spano , Peter Breitmayer , Mirron E. Willis , David Purdham , John Littlefield , Lou Reyes , Rainy Kerwin , R.J. Chambers , Eugene Collier , Tom Virtue , Gunter Simon , Frank Torres , Payton Koch , Cooper Koch , Sophie Hoblit , Caroline Weinstock , Alexander Weinstock , Michael Khmourov , Julia Emelin , Yorgo Constantine , Alla Korot , Jeff Enden , Kally Smith , Retta , Embeth Davitz

A structural engineer (Anthony Hopkins) and an ambitious young district attorney (Ryan Gosling) become locked in a deadly battle of wits when the former is found innocent in the attempted murder of hi... read more read more...s wife in director Gregory Hoblit's tense tale of courtroom mind games. Ted Crawford (Hopkins) is an engineer who lives with his wife, Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz), in the couple's lavish Southern California home. One day, after carefully planning out the details to ensure that there is no way he can be convicted of murder, Ted shoots his wife in a blatant attempt to kill the woman. When head hostage negotiator Rob Nunally (Billy Burke) arrives on the scene to speak with Ted, he is shocked to find that the victim of the shooting is in fact his longtime lover. Though Jennifer survives the trauma of being shot in the head at close range, she hovers comatose between life and death as star prosecutor Willy Beachum (Gosling) reluctantly accepts the case while preparing to leave the Los Angeles criminal court system behind for a more promising career at a posh private law firm. Though the DA (David Strathairn) vehemently resents Beachum's lofty plan for departure, the hotshot young lawyer remains convinced that he can expedite the apparently open-and-shut case and be on his way to greener pastures in one week's time at the very most. Beachum's swelling ego betrays him, however, as his future boss Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike) begins to turn up the heat and fracture mechanics specialist Ted chooses to represent himself at the trial knowing well that a career spent spotting structural flaws in aeronautical systems has instilled him with just the kind of argumentative skills needed to riddle the swaggering young lawyer's "foolproof" case with doubt. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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167 critics

R, 1 hr. 53 min.

Directed by: Gregory Hoblit

Release Date: April 20, 2007

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DVD Release Date: August 14, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (23,691)

  • LWOODS04
    February 23, 2012
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Billy Burke, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davidtz, Larry Sullivan, Fiona Shaw, Xander Berkeley

    Director: Gregory Hoblit

    Summary: Anthony Hopkins stars in this legal thriller as Ted Crawford, a man who allegedly attempted to m... read moreurder his wife and is now locked in a battle of wits with a young assistant district attorney, Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling). The D.A. is convinced Crawford has blood on his hands, but Crawford is freed on a technicality, sending Beachum on an obsessive mission to prove Crawford's guilt -- even if he has to bend the law to do it.

    My Thoughts: "This is an intelligent suspense thriller. Hopkins is so good at playing creepy. He's quite clever and devilish in this role. Ryan Gosling was just as great. It takes a good actor to make his presence known when working with a great like Hopkins, and he manages to do just that. Besides the acting, the story is also very strong. Some seen the ending coming, but getting there is a great ride. It's a great film of catch-me-if-you-can, with Gosling trying to solve the "perfect murder". The film pulls you in from the start and never lets go. One of the best suspense/thrillers I have seen."
  • shawnewing92
    December 3, 2011
    shawnewing92
    Fracture is an interesting crime drama with both intensity and drama. The mystery and the dramatic build up to the end won't amaze, but the performances by Hopkins and Gosling will however be enough to carry the film.
  • clintervin
    October 7, 2011
    clintervin
    It's a battle to see who's more brilliant or at least who's made a fatal error in the legal thriller Fracture. Anthony Hopkins plays the accused killer, Ted Crawford, a menacing, sinister character matched against Ryan Gosling's Willy Beachum, the cocky assistant district attorne... read morey. It's a typical cat and mouse game with a twist, the moral dilemma of Beachum, justice versus self-interest. He believes he can outwit Crawford then land a plumb private practice position. Crawford proves to be very formidable, however, and this film keeps you on the edge of your seat to see who wins.

    Will Beachum manufacture evidence against Crawford? What price is he willing to pay? I wasn't positive where it was going, so kudos to the writer and director. The acting is good as expected, but I've seen these same actors do better. It all adds up to a good, taunt drama; nothing too original, but well done.
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    September 27, 2011
    StarCrossedVoyager
    I really loved the narrative of this film, it was interesting, mysterious and enticing. Throughout the whole film I didn't guess the twist but when it came, it came good. Brilliant performance from Hopkins as normal but I'm not sold on Gosling.
  • 76Majikat
    July 17, 2011
    76Majikat
    In a battle of arrogance between prosecuting lawyer and defendant, mind games begin and the frustration builds.

    Anthony Hopkins plays an intellectual killer (sounds like his role as Hannibal Lector, but a much different character I promise) who has covered his tracks so well, he... read more is about to get away with murder.

    I feel Gosling has reached a higher rung on the Hollywood ladder with this film. This a great psychological thriller.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    Great film! I love Ryan Gosling! What an actor!
  • DreamExtractor
    June 13, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Fracture is worthy to be called a thriller, but not a mystery. A mystery film consists of piecing things together, such as Cold Blood or Primal Fear. In this however we are given an intense courtroom film because it mostly consists of lawyers and judges. The plot of Fracture i... read mores very intense, thrilling, and interesting. The music in the movie is great too and really intensly composed. Hopkins is tremendous as usual and Gosling proves hes ready for more roles. My main problems was keeping up, it has these stupid sub plots I didnt know what was important or wasn't. Another problem is these people are going insane over a stupid attemptem murder case, and they look like Hopkins was the man behind 9/11 or something. This movie was definently worth a watch.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    June 11, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    If you look close enough, you'll find everyone has a weak spot.

    Saw it again!!! This film keeps surprising me with lil quirks and ideas I never saw before, it's still a great soild movie to see.The film's color cinematography is very good, and includes some unusual camera angles... read more. I also liked the use of a wide-angle lens in the courtroom scenes. And sound effects, so often ignored in many films, further add to the realism of the settings. The acting is superb from Ryan and Hopkins and the story is amazing!

    Theodore "Ted" Crawford (Anthony Hopkins), a wealthy and talented structural engineer, discovers his wife Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz) is having an affair with police detective Rob Nunally (Billy Burke). Crawford proceeds to shoot his wife, seriously wounding her and he immediately confesses the crime to Nunally on the scene. However, at his arraignment, Crawford retracts his confession.

    He then engages in a battle of wits with rising star deputy district attorney William "Willy" Beachum (Ryan Gosling), who considers this an open-and-shut matter and agrees to go to trial. Beachum is busy making preparations for his transition from criminal law to corporate attorney for Wooton & Simms, a well-known firm, and begins a romantic relationship with his future boss, Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike).

    At the trial, Crawford acts as his own attorney, which serves as a key vehicle for the plot of the movie - matching up against a star prosecutor as a supposedly untrained litigant. Crawford reveals that the arresting officer (Nunally) was having an affair with his wife and was also present during his interrogation. His confession is ruled to be inadmissible as evidence, as it was fruit of the poisonous tree. Beachum discovers that Crawford's handgun was not used to shoot his wife, because it had never been fired and did not match the shell casings at the murder scene. Since the house was under surveillance the entire time from the shooting to Crawford's arrest, the police are baffled.

    While the next hearing is imminent, Beechum is faced with absolutely no evidence against Crawford. Nunally in his intense desire for revenge, offers to plant false evidence through his contact at the evidence room. Beechum, however being a young and as yet an unspoilt lawyer refuses even to consider it. Nunally, still goes on to do the dirty plant. Just before the trial, Beechum plots to trick Crawford with the help of his secretary, but at the last moment decides against. With no new evidence to present to the jury, Beachum is forced to concede the trial and Crawford is acquitted. The disgraced Nunally commits suicide with his own gun outside the courtroom.

    Beacham's future with the prestigious firm is in tatters. With the case closed, he obsessively continues to search for evidence. He repeatedly visits the comatose Jennifer in the hospital, hoping she will wake up. But at Crawford's request, a restraining order is issued forbidding Beachum to visit the patient. Realizing that Crawford's plan is to dispose off the only eyewitness to the crime, Beachum goes to great lengths to get a court order to keep Jennifer on life support. Nikki refuses to help him and they end their relationship. Beachum arrives too late and Crawford orders the hospital staff to take Jennifer off life support, allowing her to die.

    A mix-up of cellphones leads Beachum to realize that both Nunally and Crawford used the similar gun. He figures out that before the crime, Crawford switched his gun with Nunally's identical Glock 21 in a hotel room where Jennifer and Nunally secretly met. Crawford shot his wife with Nunally's gun, whereupon the detective arrived on the scene carrying Crawford's gun. While Nunally lingered over Jennifer, trying to revive her, Crawford reloaded Nunally's gun and placed it back where Nunally had left it, while at the same time taking back his original gun. Distracted by the sight of Jennifer's body, Nunally did not notice the guns being switched back. When Crawford appears back in the room brandishing his own gun, Nunally tackles and beats him up before Crawford is arrested, at which point Nunally unwittingly holsters his own gun, the murder weapon, and lets Crawford's unused one to be taken as evidence.

    Beachum confronts Crawford with his new evidence. Since she died, the bullet lodged in Jennifer's head can now be retrieved and matched with Nunally's gun. Beachum tricks Crawford into confessing, knowing that Crawford thinks he is protected under the double jeopardy clause. However, Beachum reveals that by allowing his wife to die, Crawford can now be prosecuted for murder, having previously been tried merely for attempted murder. If he had not pulled Jennifer off life support, he could have been protected by the double jeopardy clause - and as per the doctor's, Jennifer could have died anyway. Crawford is arrested by the waiting police.

    The film ends with a new trial about to begin. This time, the defendant is surrounded by attorneys.
  • garyX
    May 4, 2011
    garyX
    A brilliant engineer murders his wife in cold blood, immediately giving himself up and confessing. But against such a wily opponent, what seemed like an open and shut case proves to be a lot harder to prove than the prosecutor first suspected. Rather like the old Columbo format, ... read moreFracture begins with the murder and the rest of the story involves the police trying to prove the murderer's guilt, and Hopkins' commanding performance as the gleefully smug and arrogant killer is the main reason to watch the film. Because of this and the interesting premise, the opening act to Fracture is very strong indeed, but the film soon descends into documenting the ups and downs of a douchey lawyer and his over-privileged would-be girlfriend who are both very difficult to give a crap about. As things progress it gets more and more mundane and when the big twist turns out to be something I took to be blatantly obvious right from the outset the whole thing reveals itself to be yet another glossy but by the numbers Hollywood courtroom drama. Hopkins is really the only thing worth watching about this film which begins with a bang but ends with a half-hearted whimper.
  • harrycaul
    February 19, 2011
    harrycaul
    On the eve of a prestigious move into corporate law, an ambitious deputy district attorney (Ryan Gosling) agrees to prosecute one final criminal case, the apparent open-and-shut attempted murder of woman by her wealthy businessman husband (Anthony Hopkins). Unfortunately for the ... read morelawyer, his key witness is holding out on him and he has seriously underestimated his opponent. I was disappointed with this. Here's me thinking the clever but transparent mystery of the missing murder weapon is going to be an hors d'oeuvre, merely the opening move in a game of chess, and they drag the bloody thing out to the final scene! Flattering though it is to be five steps ahead of Gosling's character, a legal whiz kid with a 97% conviction rate, that doesn't make my voice any the less hoarse after two hours screaming at the television set! The middle portion of the film, in which Hopkins barely features, is basically a lot of dreary soul-searching on the part of the lawyer, about whether his time would be more profitably spent putting bad people behind bars or sucking corporate cock. The allure of fame and fortune yet to be realised being presumably difficult to portray, the cinematic shorthand is to give Gosling a sexy boss who can't wait to mix business and pleasure (Rosamund Pike). My curiosity to know exactly how Hopkins' character would slip up was all that kept me watching.

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Critic Reviews

Tom Charity
June 30, 2007
Tom Charity, CNN.com

A smart and snappy thriller that makes light work of its ethical dilemmas, Fracture is a little too neat and tidy to stick in the mind for long, but the Hopkins-Gosling pairing is choice, and neither ... Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards
April 30, 2007
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

Fracture is the kind of polished cat-and-mouse movie thriller that depends entirely on the cat and the mouse having read and agreed to the script in advance. Full Review

Richard Roeper
April 23, 2007
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

You've got to expect comparisons to Silence of the Lambs. The verdict: for me at least Fracture isn't even a fraction as good.

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 23, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The main interest here is the juxtaposing of Gosling's Method acting with Hopkins's more classical style, a spectacle even more mesmerizing than the settings. Full Review

Claudia Puig
April 20, 2007
Claudia Puig, USA Today

A provocative game that plays out with intelligence and wit. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
April 20, 2007
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Fracture breaks no new ground, but with [Gosling and Hopkins] around, you'll never be bored. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
April 20, 2007
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Gosling is both amazing and adrift in this almost thoroughly forgettable upscale legal drama and you're left praying that the stardom so surely coming his way doesn't come with a Hopkins clause attached. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
April 20, 2007
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Fracture is what audiences want when they go to a suspense thriller: a flashy, colorful villain; a protagonist who's imperfect enough to be interesting; and most of all a story that keeps viewers gues... Full Review

Carrie Rickey
April 20, 2007
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Fracture, a stylish thriller so highly strung it zings, gives us Hopkins, an actor at the top of his game, in material that's only middling. Full Review

Roger Moore
April 20, 2007
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

An entertaining battle of wills and styles. Full Review

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    • Detective Rob Nunally: I tried to warn you didn't I?
    • DA Willy Beachum: No, you warned me that he was smart. You didn't warn me that you were stupid.
    • Detective Rob Nunally: Fuck you little punk. Fuck you.
    • DA Willy Beachum: Fuck me? Well you already did that.
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Fracture Trivia

  • Who portrays William Beachum in Fracture ?  Answer »
  • Anthony Hopkins shoots his wife...........or does he? Name that movie!  Answer »
  • In the 2007 movie "Fracture", the role of the young prosecutor is played by _______________ and the role of the criminal is played by ________________.  Answer »
  • What is the name of the movie where Ryan Gosling plays a young attorney trying to convict Anthony Hopkin's character of attempted murder?  Answer »
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