‘Fracture’ spirals into high-grade thrills

Soren Andersen, for the Northwest Guardian

Full of satisfying surprises, ‘Fracture’ stars Anthony Hopkins and comes close to being a perfect crime movie. As perfect-crime thrillers go, “Fracture” is close to perfect.

As setups go, its opening can’t be beat. Anthony Hopkins shoots his unfaithful and much younger wife, Embeth Davidtz, at close range in their luxurious Los Angeles home. The cops find Hopkins with gun in hand, bloody body at his feet and a confession on his lips: “I shot her.” Later, he signs a written confession.

Slam dunk. Game over. Case closed.

But then things start to go sideways. The wife is not quite dead. Grievously wounded, she’s on life support. And the case against Hopkins is not quite as solid as it seems. It becomes apparent the situation is a setup, and Hopkins is playing an elaborate game. It starts to look like he might, incredibly, beat the rap.

To offer more detail of the twisty plot would spoil the fun. And “Fracture” is great fun.

It’s fun for anyone who loves a picture that keeps surprising you every step of the way. And doesn’t cheat as it does so. No red herrings from out of the blue here. Everything makes sense once the pieces of the puzzle are put into place. Everything fits.

The picture is not about the crime so much as it is about a clash of intellects and colossal egos. On one side is Hopkins’ character, Ted Crawford, a wealthy Los Angeleno with a penchant for creative vengeance.

On the other side is Willy Beachum, a bright and cocky assistant DA played by Ryan Gosling. He’s got a 97 percent conviction rate and big plans to join a high-end private law firm in, oh, about five minutes ago.

Crawford, a mechanical engineer who specializes in identifying structural flaws in airplanes, is also an expert in spotting, and exploiting, the character flaws in people. Flawed target No. 1 is Beachum. Target No. 2 is the cops. No. 3 is the rest of the criminal justice system.

Crawford is the most intellectually complex and ruthless individual Hopkins has played since Hannibal Lecter. From time to time director Gregory Hoblit (“Primal Fear”) underscores the Lecter link by shooting Hopkins in a way reminiscent of the dungeon scenes in “The Silence of the Lambs,” highlighting the actor’s eyes as they stare out at the world with unblinking malevolence.

But Crawford is no Lecter clone. He’s colder. More calculating. Less extravagant in gesture and pronouncements. The faint aroma of ham always clung to Hopkins’ Lecter. That’s not the case with Crawford. He’s more dialed down. And, if anything, even more confident of his ability to manipulate others, more engaged in the game of fooling people and making them look foolish.

Beachum is as arrogant as Crawford, but much more unpolished. Gosling plays him with a smirk and an air of superiority that slowly dissipates as Crawford exploits his arrogance time and again.

Hoblit and screenwriters Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers set the stakes sky high. For Crawford, the goal is getting away with murder.

For Beachum, it’s deciding which is more important to him: ambition or principle. His ambition tempts him to dump the case and jump out the door to his cushy new job in the private sector. Amping up the temptation is a sexy lawyer at the private firm coolly played by Rosamund Pike.

Principle demands that Beachum stick with the case and figure out a way to outwit Crawford, who is so confident of his ability to extricate himself from his predicament that he’s representing himself at trial. Reminding Beachum of his ethical obligations is his boss, played with silver-haired gravitas by David Strathairn.

“Fracture” is a high-quality production. The acting is impeccable. The production values are gorgeous. The lighting by cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau perfectly amplifies the mood of each scene, ranging from lustrous to harsh, depending on whether a scene is in Crawford’s luxurious home or Beachum’s shabby office.

Every element is in perfect sync in this brainy and immensely satisfying picture.

Fracture

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Anthony Hopkins, Rosamund Pike, Billy Burke and David Strathairn

Running Time: 1:55

Rating: R; language, violence, sexual situations