MYST Post #1: Fracture

I am a huge Anthony Hopkins fan, so when my friend mentioned this movie, Fracture, to me--a combination of one of my favorite actors and one of my favorite genres, crime--I definitely made an effort to watch it with the intention of blogging about it later. 

I was not surprised to find that the director, Gregory Hoblit, also directed another one of my favorite movies, Primal Fear, with Ed Norton and Richard Gere. Most scenes are visually interactive with shadows and lighting, offering stark contrast, a technique very suitable for the crime and thriller genres. 

Anthony Hopkins does a fantastic job as a disgruntled, highly intelligent structural engineer who shoots his wife for having an affair, and (spoiler alert) almost gets away with it. I am a huge fan of Hopkins as sociopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and he definitely brings some of that creepiness into his character in Fracture. One scene in particular was very successful in making me lose track of time (here). Ryan Gosling's character (the prosecuting attorney) was having an interview with Hopkins' character and Hopkins went on to discuss how each egg, no matter how perfect it may seem, has a flaw. The setting is dark, and as the two characters interact their faces move in and out shadow, creating drama as well as tension. The most captivating part of the scene is when the camera has a close-up on Hopkins' hands. There is an oval shaped pool of white light, placed against the dark metal table, and his hands have a sort of fluid motion going as he describes this childhood revelation. Soft, spooky music starts to play and overall it creates an eerie feeling. The low angle on Gosling exposes him, just as he exposed himself to the high powered intellect of Hopkins. The audience now has a better feeling about who Gosling's character really is. It was a very captivating scene and was well done. 

As I've mentioned before, the overall lighting is dark with a lot of low key lighting meant to emphasize characters' faces. The lighting also reflects the utter darkness of the plot of the film... a man shoots his wife because she cheated on him. I just watched Constant Gardner in my AP Lit and Comp class and this film really reminded me of certain cinematic motifs, namely the recurrence of people being partially obstructed by something. This technique reflects much of the plot lines of both films. There are common themes of deception and the search for truth. 

Overall I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. The acting was superb, and although the subject matter was heavy, I found myself laughing at a few dry jokes, which was refreshing. Gosling's transformation from a young, cocky punk of a lawyer into someone who learns to care for something bigger than himself was one story line known only a tad too well, but all the same it was nice to see. The ending was also pretty cool. During the movie I was thinking about what the social commentary could be, and I thought it was showing the flawed legal system. In way it did show this, but the ending also showed how this system can work, too. There was superb acting, interesting cinematic techniques, and a somewhat surprising plot line.