What Do The Critics Say?

"An open-and-shut case becomes an elegantly framed battle of wits in Fracture, an absorbing legal thriller." Justin Chang VARIETY "Pairing veteran Anthony Hopkins with upstart Ryan Gosling in a smartly written cat-and-mouse game is a brilliant idea." Kit Bowen HOLLYWOOD.COM "Fracture is aptly named. It's one of those movies in which cracks appear the minute you begin to look too closely." Robert Denerstein DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWSSMART "Smart, fast-paced and intriguing. Not a perfect film, but a perfectly entertaining one." Miriam Di Nunzio CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "With a film this gleefully convoluted, we know we'll never figure it out before the screenwriters are ready to tell us. So we hang on and enjoy the ride." Rich Cline SHADOWS ON THE WALL

"Although the direction and the clever script are far above average, what truly keeps Fracture riveting is the battle of wills and wits waged by its costars, old lion Anthony Hopkins and crouching tiger Ryan Gosling." Terry Lawson DETROIT FREE PRESS "This hugely entertaining thriller is what's needed to banish a winter-long case of movie blues." Joe Morgenstern WALL STREET JOURNAL "A smart script and a fun villain are more than enough to keep things rolling." Jack Garner ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE "A showcase of acting's present and future: one of the greatest living actors cast as the wily, wise vet, and one of Hollywood's most promising young talents as the rising star." Todd Hertz CHRISTIANITY TODAY "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." Carrie Rickey PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

The Inside Story "I used to candle eggs at my grandfather's farm; hold an egg up to a light and look for imperfections. The first time I did it, he told me to put the ones that were cracked or flawed into a bucket for the bakery. He came back an hour later and there were 300 eggs in the bucket. I found a flaw in every single one. Thin places in the shell, fine hairline cracks. Look closely enough and you'll find everything has a weak spot where, sooner or later, it will break," Ted Crawford, charged with the attempted murder of Jennifer Crawford. "The genesis of a seamless thriller is never simple. Its growth from inspiration to the page to production usually follows a long, circuitous route. Fracture is no different. "Thrillers are tough," says producer Charles Weinstock. "And when they start with a nice twist, as ours does, they’re particularly tough; because at the end of the movie, you need to top that. We didn’t want to close with some witless car chase, or a fight to the death on an abandoned pier. Throughout, we tried to construct a story that was grounded in character, which is always the solution: keep your characters honest, and sooner or later they’ll give you the next twist." Weinstock had wanted to do something with writer Daniel Pyne, and when they finally met, Pyne told him he had the beginnings of an idea. "Daniel said he wanted to make a movie about a guy who represents himself in court," Weinstock says, "but with this catch. As a writer, he didn’t want to be in the courtroom much." Tthe project picked up speed with the addition of screenwriter Glenn Gers, director Gregory Hoblit and New Line Cinema. Together with Weinstock they continued the painstaking process of refining the story through to production. "I was attracted by the notion that Chuck Weinstock and Greg Hoblit intended to make a 'courtroom thriller' in which most of the fight between the antagonists is not in the actual courtroom," says Gers. As luck would have it, Gers's sister was working as a prosecutor in the Kansas City D.A.'s office when he began working on the project. A year later, life imitated art and she took a job in the private sector at a corporate law firm. Gers took the opportunity to use his sister as a reference guide, asking procedural questions and running story ideas by her. "It was a strange little side light into Willy’s moral quandary," says Gers, "so I probed to learn what it was like making the transition into the private sector. But Willy is so wrapped up and enthralled with getting what he’s always wanted in terms of this new job that he doesn’t notice Crawford, so Crawford takes advantage of that weakness and sets his trap." Director Gregory Hoblit read more than 100 scripts before agreeing to direct the film. "It was the surprises you don’t see coming. I knew this one was going to be fun and I knew what to do with it, how to make it," he says succinctly. Anthony Hopkins portrays Ted Crawford, an engineer and scientist who specializes in fracture mechanics, analyzing aeronautical malfunctions and plane crashes. He prides himself on being able to spot even the smallest defect or weakness in any system, mechanical or otherwise. He read the script once and signed on. "It’s a smart, sophisticated, well-written script," he explained. "You don’t get many of those today. Being asked to participate was a stroke of luck." When asked about the motivations Of Ted Crawford he answered, "I’m not a film scholar, so I never analyze the ingredients of a good film. I never go into a character’s subtext. Ask the writer for the reasons why someone does something. I just let it emerge." And this isn't the first criminal he's played. "I’ve played two criminals in my life," he notes. "Hannibal Lecter and this guy. He’s a control freak. He’s fascinated by precision but that’s the very flaw in his nature. He likes to toy with people, he likes walking on the edge, and he’s a little too smart for his own good." "Ted Crawford could have been a one-note, heartless bad guy," says Hoblit. "But Tony being Tony; a man with such depth you don’t know where it will end, or even if you want to get to the bottom of what’s lurking beneath the surface; he’s graced with such intelligence and his gifts are so formidable, you can imagine Ted Crawford is the type of man who would love to have a normal relationship, but just can’t do it. He's a sad character." Producer Charles Weinstock agrees. "Ted is wounded and because he’s so intelligent and complicated, he’s been able to dress and hide those wounds." "He’s the classic tragic character," agrees screenwriter Glenn Gers. "He thinks he can step outside the law and the bounds of decent human behavior, and for a while he’s astonishingly successful at it, but then his crime haunts him and in the end he’s brought low by his own arrogance. I’d written a few notes that were very 'Hannibal Lecter'. But to his credit, Tony’s response was that he’d already done it before and wanted to make this guy different; Tony brought humanity and grace to this character which made for more than just a cold, nasty villain." Rising star Ryan Gosling plays public prosecutor Willy Beachum. "I liked the suspense, I liked that I couldn’t figure it out when I first read it, and I liked that Anthony Hopkins was playing Crawford. It’s not every day you get to work with one of your heroes," he said. "What’s perfectly clear right off the bat is that Ryan has an abundant talent," declares Hoblit. "The kind of focus and intensity he has can’t be taught. You just have it or you don’t. That, coupled with his off-beat good looks and natural charisma, made it a pretty easy call." How does Gosling see his character? "Willy wiggles like a worm on Crawford’s hook. He basically tortures Willy, and Willy gets caught up in something totally out of his control. There’s no relationship between them from Willy’s perspective; it’s all created by Crawford." "Crawford is the chess master who’s thought out every possible move, from beginning to end, and Willy is like one of those speed players you see in Central Park, an Energizer bunny up against this stolid, methodical guy. I liked the striking difference between their physiognomies; one is grown up, and clearly, the other is not. But Willy goes from being a callow youth to being a man at the end of the day," notes Hoblit. Hopkins is known for having a wicked sense of humour. The Oscar winner would tease the assembled crew by barking like a dog and then sit innocently as a production assistant frantically searched to quiet the errant hound. "He really does sound like a dog," declares Gosling. "He just one of those people who’s good at everything. He paints, he writes music, he directs and he does great imitations of cats and dogs. He’s a lot funnier than I thought he’d be, just a regular guy." "You’ve got to have some fun," Hopkins says, "otherwise it’s not worth getting out of bed in the morning." "Tony is very collaborative," says Weinstock, "and he doesn’t exploit the anxiety that most people feel in his presence. He just isn’t interested in that." Billy Burke, who recently played Firefighter Dennis Gauquin in Ladder 49, was cast as Detective Rob Nunally. "I knew going in that Nunally was going to be the hardest role to cast," says Hoblit. "The role demanded a range that was considerable. I also needed to believe he was a cop who could attract a woman like Jennifer Crawford, who comes from a lofty station in life." "Billy had the most difficult part," Gosling conceded, "but he handled it beautifully. It was a pleasure to work with him." Anthony Hopkins went further calling Burke "a wonderful actor" and "one to really watch." Although Hoblit was blown away by Burke’s initial audition, he wanted to be sure his performance was not a fluke and asked him to read a second time, making sure Burke could hit every emotional note of this complex character. "He was every bit as good, if not better," reports Hoblit. "For me, hiring Billy was a no-brainer." Hoblit says that also applied to his two leading ladies, Rosamund Pike and Embeth Davidtz. "They were roles that you don’t know quite what to do with. At one point, there were some pretty big names being bandied about. The role of Jennifer Crawford, for example, is small, but it’s a dramatic moment that no one will forget." "It was challenging to act opposite Anthony Hopkins, trying to match him line for line," says Davidtz. "Because his delivery is insanely good. And acting with Billy Burke was great fun. I don’t know where he’s been hiding all these years. But the real work was lying in bed, pretending to be in a coma day after day. I thought it was going to be fabulous and easy, but I found it much harder than I expected." The polar opposite of Jennifer Crawford, Nikki is intimidated by no one. 'Nikki is not used to being disarmed by people," says Pike. "Willy is not what she expected. He intrigues her and frustrates her at the same time." Synopsis

One thing is clear, highly successful engineer Ted Crawford has shot his wife in the head. What is not clear, though, is how Willy Beachum, an assertive assistant D.A. on the verge signing with a major law firm, will convict Crawford, since the calculating suspect is masterfully exploiting legal loopholes that may keep him a free man. The there's the matter of the murder weapon. After searching the Crawford's house on two occas'sions, detectives have come up empty handed. As Beachum becomes more and more determined to beat Crawford at his own intricately setup game, he risks losing both his shot at the lucrative job and his new love Nikki Gardner. It looks like an open and shut case until Crawford, who is defending himself, springs a surprise tactic on the over confident young lawyer. When Beacham puts Detective Nunally in the witness box, Crawford stuns everyone by revealing the detective was having an affair with his wife. Crawford has more surprises for the prosecutor, who may have played into his hands.

The Verdict "It's an open and shut case. Ted Crawford has shot his wife. We know because the audience is a witness to the event. What should be a dead certainty is suddenly turned on its head when Crawford has his day in court. He's playing games with young public prosecutor Willy Beachum who, after this case, intends taking up a lucrative offer from his new love, Nikki Gardner. But whoa! Slow down. This is after all, the movies. And, in true hollywood tradition there's a twist or two, or three. "Fracture" is a very entertaining film that focusses on the highly intelligent and fascinatingly cunning mind of the accused Ted Crawford, who has pitched himself against a young lawyer who until now has enjoyed a good reputation and who has a bright career ahead of him. Provided he gets a conviction. With so many spoilers in the film, it would be wise to stay away from anyone who has seen "Fracture" lest their enthusiasm spills the beans. "Fracture" showcases two actors. The consummate, highly respected Hopkins and the up and coming Gosling who, if he continues on his current path will provide cinemagoers with many memorable performances just as Academy Award winner Sir Anthony Hopkins has already achieved. Go see it. It's damn good fun watching these two at work. Very recommended. 4 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "FRACTURE" stars .......
BAFTA & David di Donatello Awards winner and recipient of the 2006 Cecil B DeMille Award Anthony Hopkins ["The Remains of the Day", "The Silence of the Lambs", "Meet Joe Black", "Shadowlands" and "The World's Fastest Indian"]; 2001 Russian Guild of Film Critics Golden Aries Award winner Ryan Gosling ["Remember the Titans", "The Believer", "The Notebook" and "Half Nelson"]; Independent Spirit Award winner David Strathairn ["City of Hope", "Good Night, And Good Luck" and "We Are Marshall"]; 2005 British Independent Film Award winner Rosamund Pike ["Die Another Day", "The Libertine", "Pride & Prejudice" and "Doom"]; Bob Gunton ["I Heart Huckabees", "Believe in Me" and "Dead Silence"]; Billy Burke ["Without Limits", "Along Came a Spider" and "Ladder 49"]; and Embeth Davidtz ["Schindler's List", "Bicentennial Man", "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "The Emperor's Club"] as Jennifer Crawford.
"FRACTURE" was .......
directed by Gregory Hoblit ["Primal Fear", "Frequency" and "Hart's War"]; screenplay by Daniel Pyne ["Any Given Sunday", "The Sum Of All Fears" and "The Manchurian Candidate"] AND Glenn Gers ["The Accountant"]; art direction by Mindy Roffman ["The End of Innocence" and "Frequency"]; set decoration by Nancy Nye ["Less Than Zero", "Gattaca", "Matchstick Men" and "Coach Carter"]; production design by Paul Eads ["Wanted: Dead or Alive", "Frequency" and "Save the Last Dance"]; edited by David Rosenbloom ["Pay It Forward", "Hart's War" and "Friday Night Lights"]; director of photography Kramer Morgenthau ["The Man from Elysian Fields", "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "Full of It"]; produced by Charles Weinstock ["Where The Money Is" and "Sleepover"]. Who's Who?

Anthony Hopkins Ryan Gosling David Strathairn Rosamund Pike Embeth Davidtz Billy Burke Cliff Curtis Fiona Shaw Bob Gunton Josh Stamberg Xander Berkeley Monica Garcia Joe Spano

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Ted Crawford Willy Beachum Joe Lobruto Nikki Gardner Mrs Crawford Rob Nunally Detective Flores Judge Robinson Judge Gardner Norman Foster Judge Moran Crawford’s Secretary Judge Pincus

Run Time 113 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - New Line Cinemas - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.