Fracture: Is There a Perfect Murder?

"Fracture" tries to answer the question, "Is there a perfect murder?" While the plot is reasonably suspenseful, they threw it away on at the end and left me wanting to barf with the camera angles.

When Ted Crawford, Anthony Hopkin's character, finds out that his wife is cheating on him, he decides to kill her. He shoots her in the face after she returns home from her boyfriend's house. (Don't worry, this isn't a spoiler, it happens in the first five minutes of the movie.) Afterwards he goes about covering up his crime. Cleverly he attempts to avoid punishment. Willy Beachum, Ryan Gosling's character, the super confident deputy district attorney thinks he can just throw Crawford away. He risks his entire future on the outcome of the case.

All of the characters in the movie are very well written. Each of the actors do an impressive job of being suspenseful, fun, scary, sad and interesting. Anthony Hopkins plays the creepy, smart guy yet again. His performance is fun, often comical. Just when you think he couldn't be any smarter, a twist comes and he has surprised you again. Ryan Gosling plays the arrogant, southern young man yet again. His performance is also surprisingly good and downright funny at times.

Good acting, you say? Sounds good right? Pft, you'd be wrong. The entire group of Academy Award Nominated Actors of the last ten years could not save the script from itself. Writers Daniel Payne and Glenn Gers weave a web of twists and turns that are exciting and fun. They know how good it feels sometimes to stick it to the man, and for the bad guy to have his day. The entire movie Ted Crawford is leading Willy Beachum around by his buttons. Then the end comes and they threw all my good will out the window. I admit it; I'm a stickler for details. If it is a movie about tacos, you'd better have a good grasp of the cumin, beef and tomatoes. When your movie is based on the American Justice System, you sure as jurice prudence, better know what habeas corpus means. Don't masterfully use the legal system for one person, showing how smart you are and then take the West Law database and throw it out the window to feel better. It is cheap and it reeks of the "Hollywoodism Cop Out." What is the "Hollywoodism Cop Out?" That is when you gloss over real life for the fun of making the movie what you want. I know, I know, it is just a movie. It is a movie about a real thing, treat it like it!

If you can get past the idiotic "Holloywoodism Cop Out" and still want to see the movie. I warn you, don't go on a full stomach. The cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau and director Gregory Hoblit, both attempt to get all "Citizen Cane" with the angles. Always wondered what Ryan Gosling's nose hairs looked like? Wanted to see how long a shadow Anthony Hopkins' wrinkles cast? Interested in counting chin hairs? Always wanted to know about the tops of people's heads? The stupid camera work doesn't end with the annoyingly unnecessary angles, there are sweeping panning shots that made me want to heave my popcorn. (Good thing I'm broke and could only afford popcorn.) There are no fast action scenes in the movie and yet the Morgenthau and Hoblit thought it would be fun to do racing pans that made my head spin. Have you ever seen one of those amateur video shows where people send in their movies? There is always one where the camera person whips their head around to capture something. Any of those people probably would have done a better job than Morgenthau!

Willing to ignore the "Hollywoodism Cop Out" and go on an empty stomach? Well you are a nicer viewer than I am, but nice has never been something people call me! If you are nicer, come willing to view the two hour long commercial. All the Pepsi cans seemed to be turned just right to see the label, how interesting. I think Mac must be owned by one of the movie companies, because they get more than one five second stare during this movie and about a zillion other movies I have seen lately.

Like a ballet dancer who saws her own legs off, this movie has potential but can't go anywhere because it makes really stupid decisions.