Fracture
(2007/New Line Blu-ray)
Picture: B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: C-
Director Gregory
Hoblit has only been able to make thriller with gimmicks and unrealistic twists
that would make you think he could not direct at all, though Hart’s War (see our Blu-ray review
elsewhere on this site) is proof he can handle a feature-length narrative that
works. Unfortunately, Fracture (2007) his first feature in
five years, has him back in would-be slick territory and once again, the film
never works.
Anthony
Hopkins is a killer (again?) of his wife, but feels he has committed a murder
so full-proof that no one can figure it out.
The highly underrated Ryan Gosling does a remarkable job holding his own
against veteran Hopkins as the young prosecutor who overconfidently takes him
on. There scenes work as well as those
between Richard Geer and Ed Norton in Hoblit’s awfully overrated Primal Fear
(also reviewed on the site) but it becomes the same old same old quickly,
wasting the talent of the leads in awful ways.
Blame the
screenplay by Daniel Pyne (miles away from the cleverness of White Sands) and
Glenn Gers (who also wrote the underrated and much smarter Mad Money, also on
this site) that has no idea what to do with itself. Good acting support comes in the form of
David Strathairn, Embeth Davidtz and Rosamund Pike, but at 113 minutes, the
film rambles on and goes nowhere. The
only “fracture” here is the breakup of a film idea (high concept that it is)
falling to pieces early on.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image has a full look to it so far as color
and warmth of the objects are concerned, but the HD master seems a little older
and has a slight softness throughout.
Director of Photography Kramer Morgenthau can shoot well, but this transfer
has issues with darker scenes that were not the case in the 35mm footage of the
film I have seen. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1
mix is better than the somewhat weak Dolby Digital 5.1 options, but this is
dialogue-based and the soundmix has its limits throughout, though the TrueHD is
more realistic. Extras include the
trailer in HD, additional scenes and two alternate endings that do not make any
difference.
- Nicholas Sheffo
