“Fracture” –
Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn
I’m a huge Hopkins fan anyway and have to say that this might just be the long awaited break Gosling has been seeking. He’s always had a sort of quirky appeal with unplumbed depths possible and the persistence of a David in the face of Goliath. The short version is that Hopkins character finds his wife is cheating and he premeditates her murder complete with a way to waste the lover and get himself off the hook. It is a rather brilliant plan and we do feel for him as he is the jilted husband, but there is something dark that lurks beneath. Ever since he played Hannibal Lecter there is almost always a murky monster that Hopkins barely contains. He stalks Gosling pushing him just a bit too far and finds he is outsmarted and out maneuvered. Gosling has his own lessons to learn about blind ambition, the good of man (or not), and passion amongst traitors. This is a tangled web but woven well and with star power that is rare these days.