Review of Fracture (2007) by Sam N — 17 Jul 2012

This had its moments but it lacked so much still. Ryan Jostling is a fine actor, why wasn't he given any dialogue in the courtroom? Anthony Hopkins was definitely the show steal-er but he too was vying for the camera and proper attention. The dark heart he possesses was implied not shown properly. I don't even wish to compare Fracture with the Silence of the Lambs. The latter was a classic while the former is an attempt to engross Hopkins in a neo-noir crime thriller. It would be blasphemy to put Jodie Foster and Ryan Jostling in a comparison box. Throwing attitude etc. suits Brad Pitt not Ryan, he can do much more but the filmmakers failed to tap his full potential unlike in Frailty (2002) where Matthew McConaughey was given a chance to blow the mind of the audience!

So, the movie starts nicely, in the middle, it gets interesting with pressure piling up but later on it's too much muddled and goes off the point a lot. Nobody explicitly says why the wife was murdered. When did Hopkins come to know about the infidelity or if there was anything more to the motive than just infidelity? And what the hell was that toy he kept playing with? I always thought, it would open some secret chest, or would fire some secret shot but nothing ever happened. In a courtroom, people expect a fight, the thrill of dialogues, not some slapdash works of Billy Burke who would remain stoic or would pounce upon Hopkins or kill himself shamefully at the loss of the trial. What the hell was he doing in the entire movie? Just a collateral damage? Oh yeah his gun was really important but what about the plot, dialogues and or an actual fight? The moment courtroom would start, Anthony Hopkins would say something to put off the fire right away. Were we there to witness the silence of Ryan Jostling? Outside the courtroom, the audience pines for more than normal thrill not just minor scuffles at hospitals, Ryan pointlessly visiting Hopkin's wife and the lame plot of Billy Burke. Despite a fine story and a great cast, the audience still yearned for more. I'd say this could have been much much better.