Fracture

Suspense CRIME thriller Fracture is rare for a Hollywood film - it requires us to use our brain.

The film stars two great scene-stealers: Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. Watching the events unfold is like witnessing a chess game between two brilliant intellects.

Every move is an unpredictable blow, and every word the characters utter is carefully chosen. A single misstep could result in disaster. It's like The Silence of the Lambs in the form of courtroom drama.

Hopkins (right) plays Ted, an engineer whose job is to look for cracks in aircrafts. At the beginning of the film, he leaves his office in a Porsche, walks into a hotel and watches two lovers - one of whom is his wife - having fun by the swimming pool. He shoots his wife in the head when she returns home later and then confesses his crime to a detective, who is his wife's lover.

We know immediately that this is no simple-minded crime thriller. Like Hannibal Lecter, Ted is a meticulous and iron-willed genius who has a knack for spotting someone's weakness and gleefully exploiting it. The only difference between the two is that the latter doesn't have a taste for human flesh.

Hopkins is obviously having fun with the role. He brings a morbid sense of humour to the character, and he winks and smiles like a devil with your fate in his hands. 'I shot my wife,' he tells the detective

with relish.

Willy (Gosling, left), an ambitious young district attorney who is about to accept a well-paid post at a private law firm, accepts the unenviable mission of putting Ted behind bars. But Ted catches the confident young man off guard and a deadly battle of wits ensues.

Every scene in Fracture is tightly crafted by director Gregory Hoblit, and there's always some unforeseen twist around the corner to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

The ending is the beginning of another courtroom battle between Ted and Willy. We will be looking out eagerly for the sequel.

Fracture is now showing