Fracture: Hannibal Lecter vs. That Wimp from "The Notebook"

Whenever I see actor Anthony Hopkins, I don't actually see Anthony Hopkins. I see Hannibal Lecter, the creepy murderer he made famous in The Silence of the Lambs. Despite the fact that I only watched the movie once--when it first came out nearly TWENTY YEARS ago, no less--I just can't get past that character when I see Mr. Hopkins. I dare say a lot of people might agree with my sentiments on this one.

As for Ryan Gosling, well, I've never seen him in anything before I watched the movie Fracture over Memorial Day weekend. I thought of him only as "that dude from that cheesy Notebook movie who dated Sandra Bullock and Rachel McAdams."

Therefore, because I was kind of iffy about Gosling as an actor, I had low expectations for Fracture. While I had read very positive reviews of film, it didn't make a huge splash when it was out in theaters.

The premise of the movie, which does not give anything away, is that Anthony Hopkins' character is this brilliant aeronautics guy who kills his wife. Gosling is a prosecuting District Attorney who takes on the case as his last hurrah before heading off to a cushy job at a private law firm. But the case isn't quite as cut and dry as he'd hoped.

My husband called what was going to happen about half-way through, but I'm not sure I would've figured out all of the twists on my own. What annoyed me was the utter uselessness of Gosling's "new boss" character, who seemed to be there for no other reason than to provide eye candy. Other than that, though, I did think it was a good film and I am actually somewhat of a Gosling fan now--he was excellent. And although Hopkins was basically still playing a kinder, gentler version of Hannibal the Cannibal, he was great as well.

If you like law and/or crime dramas with twists, or if you already are a fan of either of the two main actors, I would venture to guess that you'll like Fracture. I certainly think it's worth seeing, and the bonus is that there are no nightmare-inducing freaks holding victims captive in wells. Phew.

- e