Fragments poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce, Dakota Fanning, Josh Hutcherson ... see more see more... , Jennifer Hudson , Jackie Earle Haley , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Embeth Davidtz , Troy Garity

In the aftermath of a gruesome restaurant murder, the survivors of the attack are left to ponder their own mortality and how it relates to their connection to society. Forest Whitaker, Guy Pearce, Kat... read more read more...e Beckinsale, and Dakota Fanning headline Little Fish director Rowan Woods' adaptation of Roy Freirich's debut novel. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

32% liked it

12,302 ratings

Critics

45% liked it

31 critics

R, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Rowan Woods

Release Date: June 24, 2008

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 4, 2009

Get It:

Stats: 552 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Anne Hagen (Dakota Fanning) Fragments Fragments Fragments
Upload a Photo | View All Fragments Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (552)

  • movieguru12
    October 2, 2011
    movieguru12
    An okay dramatic movie that was good in some parts and boring in others.
  • ironclad1609
    August 16, 2010
    ironclad1609
    This calm yet intense drama tells the story of a few survivors of a diner shooting and how they deal with the violence they were exposed to or the loss of loved ones. In somewhat unconnected story lines we follow the characters during the days after the event and see how differen... read moretly they react, how they turn towards God, gambling, fear, indifference and deal with the newly experienced lack of control in their lives. The acting by an excellent cast (Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker) is top notch and although all characters have a bit of an epiphany at the end of the film, it still doesn't offer an overall solution. How could it? The movie may not grasp the complexity of such a situation in its entirety, but it's still an interesting look at what people go through in such extreme situations. Worth seeing.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    May 18, 2010
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "You have to lose your way to find it."

    A group of strangers form a unique relationship with each other after surviving a random shooting at a Los Angeles diner.

    REVIEW

    This film smacks of bei... read moreng made by folk who think they have very high IQ's. It is a very pretentious little bit of film making that attempts to examine what it is like to survive an act of uncommon violence in an urban setting. Many people do survive acts of violence in urban settings and usually the common consensus is that they are glad they survived instead of feeling nothing in particular, which is more or less how this film portrays the survivors, who immediately engage in recalcitrant acts that cross the line into outright criminality after about 24 hours passes from the initial incident. This is bad film making. The characters are stupid. Forest Whitaker is particularly ridiculous in this one. There is no way you would even want to identify with the characters in this movie. Really, it is that bad. I found myself thinking, they survived-so what-they are all morons. Avoid it.
  • deano
    December 6, 2009
    deano
    Good ensemble drama like Babel, Magnolia and Traffic with the terrific ensemble cast. Many of these actors provide performances that prove they have more potential than I had previously thought. The film is about numerous characters who witness a murder, and ... read morethe PTSD that follows them around afterward, and most of the actors have to portray a different PTSD side-effect with his or her performance, and all of them do it very well.
    I never believed that Kate Beckinsale had anything to her name besides hot looks, but she plays a stressed-out mother very convincingly. As Dakota Fanning moves towards adulthood, she handles a particularly tricky (and religion-heavy) performance with ease.
  • romy861
    November 1, 2009
    romy861
    Really well done - it shows a group of people who are caught up in a shooting at a cafe and how each deals with it. Obviously not a feel good movie, but good. The whole cast are excellent.
  • DerekA101
    October 20, 2009
    DerekA101
    All star cast of actors that centers around a tragic diner shooting rampage that leaves many dead and the survivor's lives in despair. Excellent story about coping with pain and tragedy. Some turn to religion, others to gambling, some to alcohol, and others just bottle it insid... read moree. The director did a fantastic job shooting this film. I love the constant flashbacks to the shooting, each time learning a little bit more of what really happened. It keeps you intrigued. The cinematography was beautiful, and the score was perfect.

    Dakota Fanning was, once again, the shinning star here. She's amazing to watch in these kind of touching roles. Forest Whitaker, Guy Pearce, and Kate Beckinsale were all excellent as well. And it was nice to see Jeanne Tripplehorn back in a big role. Jennifer Hudson's role was absolutely pointless though. Seriously, wtf? They could've saved some money and hired my neighbor. Her role was brief, pointless, and not complicated.

    Fragments originally was titled Winged Creatures which would've been a more fitting name. But this drama does tend to move a bit slow, but if you let yourself in these character's lives, you'll be impressed with how touching this film truly is. Very underrated film in 2008.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 16, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Whitaker, Pearce and Haley. Those three names alone are enough to warrant this a viewing. Nevermind the other stars that litter this interesting, if ultimately unfulfilling film. It centers it's attention on a group of people that survive a shooting in a restaurant. Each of the c... read moreharacters deals with it in their own way. From gambling to silence. It's a great concept which eventually gets bogged down in characters. With so many in 90 minutes it's hard to really connect. Magnolia was twice the length and so had more room to explore. Each character's arc seems more like notations, with only the most dramatic ups and downs recorded. It's a shame as when Pearce talks about how strange it feels to have held the door open for the shooter on his way in, it suggested a more complex and intriguing evaluation on the event. We are still treated to a beautiful looking film aided by excellent performances. But when all the film has to say is that "people deal with grief in many different ways which can often be destructed" it's hardly a revelation.
  • mrbicklethepickle
    November 5, 2009
    mrbicklethepickle
    This movie has an incredible cast, and they all did well, however I felt this film was a little slow moving. The secret at the end of the movie wasn't that great. It wasn't shocking or powerful, and although its true that people deal with grief differently, I just didn't see how ... read moreGuy Pearce's character would *SPOILER* try to drug his wife. To me it felt like someone just threw that in to make the story more interesting, but it really felt out of place.

    However I liked how in the film, they kept showing clips of the shooting at the diner throughout the film. Showing little glimpses of what happened. And I was also most impressed with Josh Hutcherson. Although he didn't speak much in the film, I felt he had the most powerful performance. And he was the most believable actor. He did a great job with his emotions.

    I think this movie had some potential. I just would have liked to see it played out a little differently.
  • irisheyes686
    August 22, 2009
    irisheyes686
    Good cast. The "big secret" of the movie was really dumb though. Who cares if her dad was scared? He had a gun pointed at him - who wouldn't be?
  • liquidstone14
    August 3, 2009
    liquidstone14
    It's both a shock and a relief to see such an all-star cast participating in such a small-scale story-- but Fragments (formerly titled Winged Creatures) might have benefited from a tighter, less approximative script that efficiently used all the talent on display. It's a film tha... read moret speaks about the different (and all equally disturbing) ways an act of unexplainable violence affects lives directly or indirectly touched by it. That's it. There is no bigger preoccupation to the narrative, which plays out the aftermaths of the life-shattering moment with a minimum of inventivity but little to no Silver Screen Bullshit. That's no enough to qualify Fragments as a must-see, but it is enough not to call it a failure.

    The middle third of the screenplay is actually pretty dull, but it nevertheless finds a way to get back on track, right up to its quietly powerful conclusion-- it lets the talent of Dakota Fanning and Josh Hutcherson shine through with great sensibility, turning what looked like mannered and closed-in performances into rich emotional portraits. Among the cast members, the most striking performance has to be Kate Beckinsale's, who is as heartbreaking and penetrating as I've ever seen. Forest Whittaker and Jeanne Tripplehorn, unfortunately, are on autopilot in largely pre-defined roles. Anyways, the end result is not necessarily boring to watch, but it is unremarkable in more than one way. If you can read from this review that I am not disinterested nor enthusiastic in my writing, it's because there is little to be said about this honest, thoroughly correct but mostly shapeless film.

View All Fragments Reviews

Critic Reviews

Ben Mankiewicz
August 10, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

The film is quite literally fragmented. Too much story -- and too little about each character. Full Review

Ben Lyons
August 10, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

[A] well acted ensemble piece that I think you should see. Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
August 7, 2009
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

The grand statement it wants to make plays shallow instead of deep, leaving the film too weak-kneed to carry the weight of its broken world. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
July 31, 2009
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Fragments is both deeply self-serious and essentially meaningless, the sort of we're-all-connected tragedy in which birds fly free while humans remain stuck in place. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
July 31, 2009
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

The casting directors of Fragments deserve credit for assembling so much talent in one modest movie; if only Rowan Woods, the director, knew what to do with them. Full Review

Ed Gonzalez
July 30, 2009
Ed Gonzalez, Village Voice

The hell that Paul Haggis hath wrought grows exponentially by the day. Full Review

Rex Reed
July 29, 2009
Rex Reed, New York Observer

The pace is too languid to sustain much viewer concentration, and whatever the characters go through seems only peripherally connected to the shooting in the diner. Close, but no cigar. Full Review

David Nusair
January 31, 2010
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...a watchable yet disappointing piece of work... Full Review

Tony Medley
August 7, 2009
Tony Medley, Tolucan Times

A well-directed tense drama with a terrific cast, it is an old-fashioned, no-nonsense film with no special effects that relies on acting and script. Full Review

Cynthia Fuchs
August 6, 2009
Cynthia Fuchs, PopMatters

Even as it makes a show of complexity Fragments seems determined to pull together its various story strands. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Elephant
    Elephant (100%)
  • Bridge to Terabithia
    Bridge to Terabithia (35%)
  • Black Scorpion II: Aftershock (Black Scorpion: Ground Zero)
    Black Scorpion II: Aftershock (Black Scorpion... (0%)

More Movies like Fragments

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Fragments : Watch Free on TV

Fragments Trivia

  • Dakota Fanning movie quotes- guess which film this comes from: "I didn't hold his hand. I let go of his hand. I couldn't help it. He didn't die brave like I said at all, he was just scared and alone and... I didn't do anything, Mom. I'm sorry."  Answer »
  • Ellen Page movie quotes- guess which film this comes from: "I kinda like to ride a different bus every night depending on my mood. Like, if I'm depressed, I enjoy being around other depressed people. And happy people, they frickin' depress me! You know?"  Answer »
More Fragments Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Fragments. Want to create one?

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Fragments Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Fragments to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Fragments News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?