Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone) in the final stages of his long career for those notorious schlockmeisters Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. I recently rewatched an old DVD box set consisting of four 1980s Charles Bronson action movies, all directed by J. Ryan Gosling proves in this role that his surprise Oscar nomination last year as a likable but substance-abusing teacher in the sleeper Half Nelson wasn't just a space-filler he continually makes offbeat, unpredictable character choices that are a real joy to watch-notice precisely just how he gets out of his lover's bed! Davidtz is such an achingly lovely screen presence that director Gregory Hoblit's use of innumerable close-ups of her (even after she's in a coma) indicates his outrage that industrialist Crawford, by not only attempting to murder her but by shooting her in the face, is committing the ultimate act of natural destruction by defacing such an example of pure beauty, even if Jennifer were doing the horizontal polka with the entire local police force! Ultimately, Fracture's central flaw, especially evidenced in the far-too-restrained absolute final scene before the closing credits roll, is that Hoblit (Primal Fear) isn't quite outraged ENOUGH in endeavoring to make a courtroom movie in which the prosecutor is the hero that will still appeal to liberals and ACLU supporters in the audience, he's just a little too polite, genteel and distanced. The focal character in Fracture is really Willy, who's the one character whose future (not just what career track he will or won't eventually take but what kind of human being he'll choose to become) is really at stake. One characteristic that Hopkins's work DOES share with Silence is that in both he's such a powerful presence that you think he's onscreen for much more of both films' running time than he actually is. Competing for your box office dollars with such derivative slashfests as Vacancy and Disturbia, and with Spidey, Shrek and Sparrow just around the corner, Fracture emerges as an intelligent, satisfyingly twist-filled pleasure: the movie equivalent of a guilt-free beach read. Yeah, and back in 1975, Brody, Quint and Hooper were just going on a little weekend fishing trip. The latter can be the only reason why a seemingly intelligent woman like Jennifer (Junebug's Embeth Davidtz) got involved with him in the first place given that Hopkins looks healthy and fit enough here to outlive us all, she certainly couldn't have been "pulling an Anna Nicole"! District Attorney Willy Beachum is easily fooled he's a rising legal star who through a combination of youthful arrogance and the distraction of a prestigious legal position he's about to step into, unwisely assumes that Crawford's on-the-spot confession after shooting Jennifer constitutes an open and shut case. One fundamental difference stands out, however: while nobody would mistake Hannibal "The Cannibal" for anything other than evil incarnate, his attraction to FBI agent Clarice Starling (at least in the original Silence of the Lambs) provided a humanizing factor, however brief.but Crawford is nothing more than a thoroughly despicable sociopath with no redeeming qualities beyond a veneer of surface charm which he operates to suit his purposes. One fundamental difference stands out, however: while nobody Many critics and moviegoers have noted the many apparent similarities in characterization and performance between Anthony Hopkins's Ted Crawford, who plots the perfect crime against his unfaithful wife, and Hannibal Lecter. Many critics and moviegoers have noted the many apparent similarities in characterization and performance between Anthony Hopkins's Ted Crawford, who plots the perfect crime against his unfaithful wife, and Hannibal Lecter.
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