Fracture
User Score
6.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 74
  3. Negative: 8 out of 74

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  1. JayC.
    Apr 20, 2007
    9
    Intriguing story that kept me interested with a sprinkle of laugh out loud lines. Entertaining, if a bit obvious. Even though you sort of know how it will end, it has a nice twist. Left me feeling good about the outcome and the excellent acting.
  2. LeeF.
    Apr 21, 2007
    9
    Not perfect, but interesting. See if you can figure it out before the solution becomes obvious. Engrossing. I particularly loved Crawfords house!
  3. JohnAhto
    Apr 20, 2007
    10
    Great movie! Gosling and Hopkins are both unic actors.
  4. NolanS.
    May 20, 2007
    7
    While the female characters were either lecherous wives, doe-eyed secretaries, or over-sexed attorneys---making for less-than-modern characterization---beholding the craftiness, suspense, and well-placed humor made this movie well worth the time and money spent.
  5. TonyB.
    Oct 8, 2007
    6
    Extremely well-acted legal thriller with some unfortunate plot holes. Ryan Gosling more than holds his own up against one of our finest actors, Anthony Hopkins.
  6. RandyP.
    Apr 21, 2007
    6
    Sadly, an audience that pays more attention to the film than Willy does to his case, is made to wait for a transparent gimmick to completely unfold. What texture is present does not stick to the two dimensional characters built out of Hollywood gloss. It's perhaps an interesting diversion, but hardly satisfying.
  7. AideenM.
    Apr 22, 2007
    7
    Good plot and great acting. However, there's no way a character as clever as Ted would not have known about the law concerning double jeopardy.
  8. LizzieG.
    Apr 20, 2007
    8
    Gosling and Hopkins play great off one another. A fun thriller with a great cast.
  9. JasonP.
    Apr 30, 2007
    2
    I have to agree with Leslie H. The only amusing parts of this film come from Anthony Hopkins few charming scenes that'll put a smile on your face. You end up cheering for the bad guy to get away in this movie because the lawyer he's up against in a total A-Hole who only cares about himself. Also, the romantic aspect of this film where the hot shot lawyer is having a sexual relationship with his boss, which makes you hate him even more, serves no purpose to the entire storyline. The ended that was suppose to put a "Oooh!" on your face really ended up being a "Whatever..." The twist at the end was so ridiculous and obvious half way through the movie, that I lost all interest in the storyline. I originally put this movie at a 3, but as I write more bad things about it, I realized this movie really deserves a 2!… Expand
  10. Luke
    May 31, 2007
    7
    Good enough. Hopkins was good as a jealous husband, but this is certainly not Oscar material.
  11. JimG.
    Jun 2, 2007
    5
    Plenty of other better movies to go see. Not even something you need to catch on DVD. Unless you've already watched every good movie available, don't waste your time with this. It reminded me a lot of the director's much better film, "Primal Fear," but it never came close to reaching that film's genius. I think that Anthony Hopkins needs to stop playing roles that are so similar to Hannibal Lecter before that's the only type of part he is offered. Or maybe it already is. It seems as though he tried to make his character more interesting (did anyone else notice the very subtle accent?) but what the character needed was to be WRITTEN more interesting. I never understood just exactly what his character did for a living. We were given a basic idea, but I think more of an exploration into his mind would've allowed for a better film. His ball bearing devices that litter his office and home suggest a much more interesting man. Gosling is great, and this was the first film I've seen him in. This is merely a stepping stone for him to better films. I wish I could say I saw all the twists coming, but I didn't. I've never been good at predicting what's going to happen before it happens unless it's blatantly obvious. But it doesn't matter, because when the answers were revealed, they were completely uninteresting. Boring film. Don't waste your time on it.… Expand
  12. RafaelP.
    Aug 22, 2007
    6
    Just wanted to say, Cindy N. you need to learn how not to spoil the movie for other people. Revealing key plot twists is inconsiderate and rude. Please learn how not to ruin it for other people, just for the sake of trying to look smart.
  13. FrankH.
    Sep 24, 2007
    6
    Generally as an attorney I am able to appreciate literary license and understand that a film can not 100% reflect the realities of the law. But I do expect some basis in reality. The legal errors were so glaring that I was unable to enjoy the movie. Just because a defendant waives a preliminary hearing doesn't mean that the trial is going to start the next day. When a defendant files a motion the prosecution has an opportunity to respond, in writing. Judges don't make rulings in chambers, etc. My guess that a police investigator who saw this movie would have their own complaints about police procedure. That being said, Hopkins is still an interesting actor.… Expand
  14. TomJ.
    Sep 9, 2007
    9
    Great acting, very engaging.
  15. DavidW.
    Apr 20, 2007
    7
    Entertaining but with no real good guy to root for, it puts arrogance (Willy) on par with murder (Ted). Really bad part is the ending which is improbable and fatally fractured.
  16. BrettD.
    Apr 23, 2007
    8
    I thought the outcome was rather obvious in the beginning, but Hopkins and Gosling still held my attention throughout the remainder of the film. Overall I thought it was an enjoyable movie.
  17. MichaelM.
    Apr 25, 2007
    7
    Agree with what others have said, great performances, but you could see the 2 major plot twists coming from the next county. Not a big problem for me with this script though, as it was nice to see the "most likely scenario" play out without some campy set of extraordinary circumstances being revealed at the last second. Hopkins has the "genius without a conscience" character down pat, and perhaps I've just seen it one too many times, so I wasn't overly taken with that performance. However Gosling did pleasantly surprise me, and I found myself vacillating between hoping his character would succeed and wishing for him to fail. He underplayed the requisite moralistic struggle and epiphany scenes just enough to make them part of the movie flow, rather than an all too predicatable sub climax.… Expand
  18. MarkB.
    May 2, 2007
    7
    Many critics and moviegoers have noted the many apparent similarities in characterization and performance between Anthony Hopkins's Ted Crawford, who plots the perfect crime against his unfaithful wife, and Hannibal Lecter. One fundamental difference stands out, however: while nobody would mistake Hannibal "The Cannibal" for anything other than evil incarnate, his attraction to FBI agent Clarice Starling (at least in the original Silence of the Lambs) provided a humanizing factor, however brief...but Crawford is nothing more than a thoroughly despicable sociopath with no redeeming qualities beyond a veneer of surface charm which he operates to suit his purposes. The latter can be the only reason why a seemingly intelligent woman like Jennifer (Junebug's Embeth Davidtz) got involved with him in the first place; given that Hopkins looks healthy and fit enough here to outlive us all, she certainly couldn't have been "pulling an Anna Nicole"! District Attorney Willy Beachum is easily fooled; he's a rising legal star who through a combination of youthful arrogance and the distraction of a prestigious legal position he's about to step into, unwisely assumes that Crawford's on-the-spot confession after shooting Jennifer constitutes an open and shut case. Yeah, and back in 1975, Brody, Quint and Hooper were just going on a little weekend fishing trip. Competing for your box office dollars with such derivative slashfests as Vacancy and Disturbia, and with Spidey, Shrek and Sparrow just around the corner, Fracture emerges as an intelligent, satisfyingly twist-filled pleasure: the movie equivalent of a guilt-free beach read. One characteristic that Hopkins's work DOES share with Silence is that in both he's such a powerful presence that you think he's onscreen for much more of both films' running time than he actually is. The focal character in Fracture is really Willy, who's the one character whose future (not just what career track he will or won't eventually take but what kind of human being he'll choose to become) is really at stake. Ryan Gosling proves in this role that his surprise Oscar nomination last year as a likable but substance-abusing teacher in the sleeper Half Nelson wasn't just a space-filler; he continually makes offbeat, unpredictable character choices that are a real joy to watch--notice precisely just how he gets out of his lover's bed! Davidtz is such an achingly lovely screen presence that director Gregory Hoblit's use of innumerable close-ups of her (even after she's in a coma) indicates his outrage that industrialist Crawford, by not only attempting to murder her but by shooting her in the face, is committing the ultimate act of natural destruction by defacing such an example of pure beauty, even if Jennifer were doing the horizontal polka with the entire local police force! Ultimately, Fracture's central flaw, especially evidenced in the far-too-restrained absolute final scene before the closing credits roll, is that Hoblit (Primal Fear) isn't quite outraged ENOUGH; in endeavoring to make a courtroom movie in which the prosecutor is the hero that will still appeal to liberals and ACLU supporters in the audience, he's just a little too polite, genteel and distanced. I recently rewatched an old DVD box set consisting of four 1980s Charles Bronson action movies, all directed by J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone) in the final stages of his long career for those notorious schlockmeisters Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. The flicks are raw, lurid and occasionally offensive, but at their best (especially Ten to Midnight and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects, arguably the cream of the box) they really tap into the anger that their audiences undoubtedly feel about murderers and lowlifes who successfully manipulate the American legal system in order not only to get away scot-free with their crimes but to keep committing more of them. As enjoyable as Fracture is, Hoblit clearly needs to be a little less classy and cerebral and a little more down-and-dirty and emotional in his storytelling; silly as this may sound, the man needs to inject a small but vital dose of Golan, Globus and J. Lee Thompson into his soul!… Expand
  19. MarilynZ.
    May 8, 2007
    9
    I was spellbound although we figured out what happened to the missing gun as soon as they said it was missing. That kind of put a krimp in things, but it was a very good movie otherwise. I love Anthony Hopkins in anything.
  20. MattW.
    Jun 29, 2007
    8
    This is a fun and extremely entertaining flick that has major plot holes and predictable twists. Just check logic at the door and enjoy a great movie-going experience.
  21. ColinC
    Aug 27, 2007
    7
    While a lot of the elements felt familiar, it had enough new twists I liked the style of film and enjoyed it, even if it did feel like I'd seen the ending played out more than once in different TV lawyer shows.
  22. CL
    Aug 27, 2007
    7
    Reasonably well directed and written, but: Personally, I felt no sympathy for any of the "good guy" characters in this movie. First of all, lets start with Crawford's Wife; she is cheating on her husband, who we are provided with no evidence to the contrary that he is anything else but a loving spouse. She is cold, untrustworthy and generally came across as a deceptive woman. The cop, who comes across less as a deranged lover than as a poorly disciplined, incompetent, also cheating cop was also difficult to muster any kind of sympathy for. The lawyer, again, annoys me and I'm guessing many other people, because he is a stuck up, cocky young lawyer who seems to think he is smarter than he really is. Then there is Crawford himself. [***SPOILER***] I wanted him to prevail, I wanted to see him outwit this cocky young lawyer in a case where he used his perfectly justifiable, though not condoned, human emotions and careful, meticulous intelligence to get away with murdering his cheating wife and her also cheating lover. He was the most complex character and had the most justifiable feelings out of any of the characters in the film. Other than this, I liked it.… Expand
  23. DeanD.
    Sep 5, 2007
    2
    Plot spoiler warning! As a lawyer, I can say there were two major flaws in the plot. First, the notion of double jeopardy is nonsense. Crawford was never tried and acquitted, the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Hence, they could be refiled if new evidence came to light. That said, being guilty of murder didn't make sense if he couldn't be charged with attempted murder. His wife died because the hospital turned off her respirator, which they were presumably entitled to do under the law, with his permission. How can that be murder if under the double jeopardy concept, he couldn't be charged again with shooting his wife? Doesn't compute. Aesthetically, I thought Willy was obnoxious and his "conversion" was laughable. And the affair of a gorgeous senior partner with an incoming jr. associate.......in your dreams.… Expand
  24. JoeT.
    Apr 22, 2007
    5
    Terrific acting that is more than the script deserves. Had me entertained for the most part, with the exception of a few stretches where the self-conscious lighting and intrusive score were not enough to distract me from some painfullly obvious storytelling and plot holes. "Plot Twist #1" is apparent from early on, and "Plot Twist #2" (a.k.a. the ending) is so ludicrously unbelievable that it left me feeling cheated. It asks the audience to believe that a character who has been established as a cunning, evil genius would overlook something that would be evident to a sixth-grader. A shame, because some of the dialogue was actually quite smart.… Expand
  25. BillyS.
    Apr 23, 2007
    5
    Nothing more than a good episode of Columbo. Anthony Hopkins is always worth the price of admission, but in Fracture he is not Marlon Brando reprising his Godfather role in The Freshman. He's just a highly intelligent murderer but no way as diabolical as Hannibal Lector though he gets about the same screen time as he did in Lambs. Ryan Gosling proves he's an actor with more Oscar nominations in store and with Gordon Joesph Levitt are the two great actors of their generation. Fractured is really just a good court-room drama with a couple of all too transparent twists that is able to hold your attention only by the two leads.… Expand
  26. LeslieH.
    Apr 26, 2007
    0
    His "plan" would have failed any of 50 ways, each one sending him to a life sentence. What if a different cop answered the call? What if they tested the gun when they were supposed to? What if they had someone else take his confession? Since the "plan" relies on 50 strange things happening his way, there was no plan.
  27. MattB
    Apr 28, 2007
    6
    Good movie, definitely worth seeing, but nothing terribly special or groundbreaking. Simply entertaining and interesting.
  28. CindyN.
    Jun 12, 2007
    6
    Plot was somewhat contrived, but it did hold your interest. Satisfying ending at least. Seems in real life people choose to kill their spouses rather than that ugly word Divorce. Good acting on all the stars part.
  29. JF
    Jun 23, 2007
    4
    Decent acting by most of the cast, but Gosling was horribly miscast. That error threw the entire movie off, although the final 15 minutes saved it from being a complete flop.
  30. ElizabethP.
    Aug 22, 2007
    7
    Very entertaining, great story, I just wished they elaborated the ending a little more.
  31. folk_tylore
    Sep 30, 2010
    10
    Anthony and Ryan are both perfect for there roles, and work very well together. I was really surprised at how great this movie was. The first scene of the movie shows Anthony murdering his wife but the real drive of the movie is how Ryan is going to implicate Anthony for the crime, intense and humorous at times and never dull.
  32. ERG1008
    Sep 17, 2010
    7
    Anthony Hopkins can't really shake off the Hannibal Lector tag & I kept expecting him to put on a blue jumpsuit at any moment. And what was his accent all about? Welsh, Irish, American? Few twists here & there & pretty well acted throughout.
  33. solutions10
    Oct 6, 2011
    2
    Crime dramas like these, which only exist to keep you guessing until the end about the criminal mastermind's seemingly perfect crime, sort of have to make sense for that idea to work. Fracture doesn't fulfill that criteria. The legal proceedings are riddled with creative liberties, making the entire thing a fiasco. The ending turns out to be laughably stupid, and the bad guy is predictably caught doing something insanely dumb...except what he's doing wouldn't actually be a retrial for a separate crime as it is in the film, since he didn't murder his wife, they pulled the plug on her in the hospital. His attempted murder charge still stands, but murder does not, and that's sort of a ridiculous way to catch him at the end. Also, since when do criminal masterminds openly brag to others about getting away with attempted murder all by themselves? Did it not occur to this guy that someone else might possibly be listening in somewhere? You're only talking to the goddamned prosecutor that will do anything to take you down, and you're openly admitting as loud as possible that you shot your wife and then got away with it? The "twist" as to why there's no evidence is also just stupid. It's circumstantial evidence and would never hold up in court, as it's nothing more than a theory by the prosecution that can't possibly be proven. All the bad guy has to do is deny it, and that's the end of it, since there's no evidence linking the events together, which was sort of the whole goddamned point of his plan. That's not evidence. If the bad guy had just said, "Get out" once he saw this prosecutor enter the premises, he would have gotten away with everything. Instead, he takes the opportunity to laugh and gloat about his perfect murder. And then, look at that, no one saw this coming: People are listening outside. Oops! Must've forgotten to read about how many criminals get caught by bragging about it in local bars. None of the characters besides Hopkins are the slightest bit interesting, so any time he's not on screen, we're just waiting for him to turn the tables on the prosecutor again, due to the prosecution's seemingly impossible stupidity. The rest of the plot seemed like it was just filler. With an ending and a twist this bad, not to mention one that doesn't make any sense, with a legal rule that's badly misinterpreted and totally bogus to finally catch the bad guy, the film just has no excuse.… Expand
  34. asylumspadez
    Nov 19, 2011
    8
    I liked it. Hopkins was a beast in this film and the supporting cast was fine as well. It was interesting from start to finish and it ended perfectly. The one flaw was that is was a little too long, Other then that it was good.
  35. moviegrabbag
    Jun 12, 2011
    6
    This was a very well done movie. The acting was incredibly solid and the story was very well written. The only issue that I had with this movie was that it became a little slow in some spots. This is definitely a movie that court room thriller fans need to check out as well as fans of Anthony Hopkins because he was amazing in this movie.
  36. imthenoob
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    It was actually a pretty solid film overall. Hopkins ,as always, is an amazing lead and definently the driving force of this film. Gosling wasnt that good though and disapointed me quite a bit, The rest of the cast is a little below average as well. It had a good plot that kept you interested from start to finish. Well worth watching imo.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    70
    What makes Fracture hum is the way Hopkins bares his teeth, twitches his nostrils, and trains his shiny pinprick Lecter eyes on his co-star.
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  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    70
    The movie entertains, but it's a shallow entertainment where you have no rooting interest in the outcome.
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  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    50
    It renders passion dispassionate and turns murder into a kind of fashion statement, something we observe without really caring about.
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