Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Fuse

Ted Crawford, played by Anthony Hopkins, plans the perfect murder of his wife in the unpredictable movie, "Fracture".

A slow start is the last thing you should expect from "Fracture", a movie featuring several plot twists and characters who can never be fully trusted.

Though the twisted scenarios may not keep you on the edge of your seat, they will keep you interested and entertained for the full hour and 52 minutes - a task most movies are hard-pressed to accomplish.

Within the first few minutes, viewers witness an affair, a murder and the majority of the movie's excitement.

In the opening scene of the movie Ted Crawford, played by Anthony Hopkins, watches as his wife, Jennifer Crawford, played by Embeth Davidtz, and another man swim and spend time together at the edge of a hotel pool. Crawford, who is far from ignorant to his wife's affair, waits for her to come home to their luxurious Los Angeles home before he confronts her, ending her life with a single shot to the head - or so he thought.

The plot thickens when the detective brought to the crime scene, Rob Nunally, played by Billy Burke, discovers the woman who has been shot is actually his lover. When the woman is declared alive, the tension and confusion is further increased among characters.

The rest of the movie is full of complicated scenarios and interactions between Crawford, Nunally and Willy Beachum, played by Ryan Gosling, who is the assistant district attorney and prosecutor of the case, along with other characters.

Although there are short bursts of suspense and excitement scattered throughout the movie - mainly during encounters between the seemingly insane Crawford and Beachum - most of the action takes place at the beginning, leaving the rest of the movie dry at times.

The sometimes dull overtone, however, is overshadowed by an unpredictable plot and characters who demand attention from the audience. The persuasive acting and characterization are the most compelling features of the movie, making the plot seem more dynamic and fast paced than it actually was.

Hopkins plays a very convincing Crawford - a man so intelligent and cunning he is almost able to pull off the perfect crime. His unconventional methods often seem careless and self destructive, but everything he does has a motive in the end.

Continued...

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