YNOT at the Movies

At the very beginning of "Fracture" (USA 2007, 112 min.), a structural engineer Ted, played by Anthony Hopkins, shoots his wife who is carrying an affair. Like shown in the trailer, he frankly tells the cop: "I shot my wife." That's how high the bar is set for this movie, because we all know Ted is not that stupid to incriminate himself. So, now what? How is his master mind going to play toy with the legal system to get away with the crime? How does he try to outsmart the assistant DA Willy (played by Ryan Gosling)?

This is a gripping court room drama that happens mostly outside of a court room. It's a wit battle from the beginning to the end. It's a very satisfying film because it keeps providing us new twists while making us intrigued.

Both Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling give outstanding performance. Anthony Hopkins shows us Dr. Lecter's creepiness from his soft voice and subtle winks. It seems Hopkins' character gets more pleasure from showing the DA that he can get away from anything with his brain. Ryan Gosling presents us again how brilliant he can be after his Oscar nominated performance in "Half Nelson."

This is a very entertaining film that it just gets better and better during the plot development. It's a solid piece of intelligent work. However, compared to the rest of the film, the ending seems a little weak. The DA's life seems also too glamorous. The movie makes me want to be a DA myself, to play a mind game with Dr. Lecter alike.

My rating: 9 out of 10.