| | | I Shot My Wife...Prove It.
Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format)
Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins and Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling are brilliant in this "exceptionally suspenseful nail-biter" (Rex Reed) that's so smart it "doesn't let go, even after the final twist" (Gene Shalit, Today). Ted Crawford (Hopkins) brutally murders his wife and calmly waits for the police to arrest him. With the weapon and a signed confession in hand, Deputy D.A., Willy Beachum (Gosling), believes a conviction is a slam dunk; that is until the case completely unravels. Now, with little evidence, Beachum goes head to head with the cunning Mr. Crawford in a desperate search for the truth and the answer to one burning question: How is this guy getting away with murder?
"...a provocative game that plays out with intelligence and wit." Claudia Puig, USA Today
"A hugely entertaining thriller." Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
"...diabolical fun." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"Gosling is the kind of actor who makes other actors look lazy." Scott Foundas, The Village Voice
"Not since Lecter has a role been this well suited to Hopkins..." Scott Tobias, The Onion A.V. Club
Editor's Note
In director Gregory Hoblit's 2007 thriller, FRACTURE, one thing is clear--highly successful engineer Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) has shot his wife (Embeth Davidtz). What is not clear, though, is how Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), an assertive assistant D.A. on the verge signing with a major law firm, will convict Crawford, since the calculating suspect is masterfully exploiting legal loopholes that may keep him a free man. As Beachum becomes more and more determined to beat Crawford at his own intricately setup game, he risks losing both his shot at the lucrative job and his new love, Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike).Easily Hoblit's finest film since 1996's PRIMAL FEAR, FRACTURE benefits from a similar sense of suspense, which is heightened by the fascinating interplay between Hopkins and Gosling. While Hopkins verges on Hannibal Lecter territory, he never makes the leap to that villain's macabre persona, instead making Crawford a chillingly detached criminal who finds room for occasional moments of disarming humor. And as Beachum, Gosling embodies young, aspiring swagger, making his character the polar opposite of his lost, drug-addled Oscar-nominated role in HALF NELSON. Aided by a smart script (courtesy of Glenn Gers and Daniel Pyne), Hopkins and Gosling take what could have been a decent courtroom drama, and elevate it to the level of a mesmerizing chess match.
| Features | 2 Alternate Endings | | Audio: English | | Deleted Scenes | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: New Line |
| Release Date: 2/10/2009 |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 11040 | | UPC: 00794043110405 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"The two actors are terrific. Hopkins, doing a gloss on Hannibal Lecter's mannerisms, invites us to relish that soft-voiced Welsh burr..." -- Grade: B 04/27/2007 p.121New York Times
"FRACTURE offers an assortment of tasty treats, notably the spectacle of that crafty scene stealer Anthony Hopkins mixing it up with that equally cunning screen nibbler Ryan Gosling." 04/18/2007 p.E10 Box Office
"Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling go at it in this courtroom drama....It's a thrilling bout." 06/01/2007 91 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[With a] taut script, accomplished camerawork, lush set dressing and atmosphere....It's game-on for Gosling and Hopkins' mesmerizing double act." 07/01/2007 p.44 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "The banter between the actors is engaging and fun....The focus is on this wicked genius and this smart but less experienced kid one-upping each other." 06/01/2007 p.98 ReelViews 8 of 10
Fracture is refreshingly different from the average mystery thriller in that it does not bombard the audience with "shocking" twists and "surprise" turns. This is a good thing, since those kinds of gimmicky plot elements more often than not derail movies. Although Fracture is set up as a crime movie/courtroom drama, it's actually a contest of wills between two characters who share a primary trait: one of Shakespeare's favorite tragic flaws - hubris. The movie can be seen as a high stakes chess match, with each of the main characters trying to outmaneuver the other. The ending is weak, and requires the employment of the most overused device in the genre, but the movie as a whole survives this...With Anthony Hopkins in the lead and a screenplay that was composed by writers not merely interested in fitting together a jigsaw puzzle of cliches, this movie is gruesomely engaging. - James Berardinelli
Reel.com 7 of 10
Arrogance meets cocky when Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins and Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling match wits in the entertaining and ridiculous legal thriller Fracture...It is a terrific set up, or would be if it were possible to care about either character and if the story did so quickly unravel into the completely unbelievable...Fracture does have a few points in its favor. At least, it is never dull. It has a great supporting cast in David Strathairn as Beachum's current boss and Rosamund Pike as his future boss and unlikely love interest. That the production was shot in Los Angeles instead of Toronto or Vancouver is a wonderful thing; the city looks fabulous. But the film never delivers on its promise. What ought to have been an engaging battle of wits simply isn't. - Pam Grady
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