CRITIC'S CORNER
'Fracture' is Columbo-esque, fun
By DNA Smith

Oscar winning actor Anthony Hopkins of "Silence of the Lambs" fame plays Ted Crawford in "Fracture".

"Fracture"
Running time:113 minutes
MPAA rating: R

Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in the engaging mystery thriller "Fracture," a surprisingly smart and wellcrafted film.

Gosling plays Willy Beachum, an ambitious young lawyer with the LA district attorney's office. Willy has a 97 percent conviction rate -- due in part to his passing off losing cases onto his fellow lawyers. He's leaving the DA's office and taking a job with a corporate firm that will provide him with a much better lifestyle.

With only a week left at the DA, a no-brainer of a case is tossed onto his lap. A man is arrested for shooting his wife in the face and putting her into a coma. He has confessed to the crime. All Willy needs to do is attend the arraignment, let the man plead guilty and let the wheels of justice take its course.

There's just one little hitch. The husband, Ted Crawford (Hopkins), is a lot more clever than he appears. Before Willy knows it, he's in over his head because Ted has done his research and planned on Willy being unprepared. Within a matter of minutes, Willy's career and future plans crumble around him.

What's great about "Fracture" is that it's set up like an old episode of "Columbo." At the beginning of the film, we see Hopkins plan and execute the crime, then watch him cover his tracks. Everything is laid out in front of us. And when the ending comes, you sit there going, "How did I miss that?"

Hopkins does a great job with Ted Crawford. He is a horrible man, and you really do want to see him get his comeuppance. Gosling does a pretty good job, but I really would have liked a much stronger screen presence alongside Hopkins. Still, Gosling's performance is good enough to make "Fracture" a fun evening at the theater.

GRADE: B+ (c) 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.