Thursday, June 28, 2007

Fracture



As I was watching Fracture, I kept comparing Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkin's sparring to another teriffic acting duel: Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in Training Day. Sure, the plots are nothing alike, but I was reminded of how Hopkin's and Washington did a damn fine job of chewing scenery (and I liked it) in their respective roles. However, I was drawn more to the nuanced, subtle performances by Ryan Gosling and Ethan Hawke in their respective roles. They were all the more amazing because their counterparts were trying so very hard to be amazing.

I pretty much loved Fracture. Gosling is the most exciting young actor out there, and he delivers another great performance here. Hopkins does a good job too being bad and smart and loving it.

I felt really tense and on the edge at my seat at several points during the movie, and that genuinely surprised me in a legal thriller.

My only complaint, a minor and unsure one, is that the solving of the mystery at the end seemed quaint, almost out of a Matlock or Murder She Wrote episode. It worked. It surprised me. But I wanted a little more pizazz after all those acting aerobatics that preceeded it.

****

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