Fracture (2007)
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A wealthy man who shoots his unfaithful wife enters into a high-stakes battle of wits with a determined young assistant district attorney.
The story
After discovering his wife's affair with a police detective, wealthy aeronautical engineer Theodore "Ted" Crawford shoots her. He is subsequently arrested and faces a trial before William "Willy" Beachum, a rising star district attorney. While the prosecution initially believes they have an open-and-shut case due to a signed confession, the legal proceedings take a turn when the confession is ruled inadmissible. This forces Beachum to navigate a complex legal landscape where the evidence is murky and the stakes are high, leading to a tense psychological game between the prosecutor and the defendant.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Theodore "Ted" Crawford, an aeronautical engineer, shoots his wife after discovering her affair with a detective. He is arrested and initially faces a straightforward conviction. However, the prosecution's case falls apart when the judge rules his confession inadmissible because the arresting officer was also involved in the affair. This leads to Crawford's acquittal and the detective's suicide. Undeterred, Beachum becomes obsessed with finding new evidence. He eventually discovers a complex gun-swapping scheme involving the crime scene and the detective's actions. He realizes that while Crawford is protected by double jeopardy for the initial shooting, he can be prosecuted for the specific act of taking his wife off life support. The film concludes with a new trial beginning where Beachum prosecutes Crawford for murder.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States; Germany
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gregory Hoblit
- Writers
- Daniel Pyne · screenplay; Glenn Gers · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Anthony Hopkins · Ted Crawford; Ryan Gosling · William "Willy" Beachum; David Strathairn; Rosamund Pike; Embeth Davidtz; Billy Burke; Cliff Curtis; Fiona Shaw; Bob Gunton
- Genres
- legal; psychological thriller
- Themes
- justice; deception
- Tone and mood
- tense; suspenseful
- Setting
- Los Angeles, present day
- Premise and plot tags
- legal thriller; psychological thriller; courtroom drama
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the lead actors and the tension of the story, despite some critiques regarding the plausibility of the plot. It was also a box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 73% · scale: percentage · review count: 171; Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Award · Choice Movie Actor · Nomination; World Soundtrack Award · Film Composer of the Year · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was originally reported as a 'cat and mouse game' in 1999.; The film was reported to have been picked up by New Line Cinema in 2005.; The film was released on DVD in 2007 and Blu-ray in 2009.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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