Fracture
Fracture is a drama about two people talking for most of the film. Ryan Gosling plays young DA lawyer Willy Beachum going up against carefully calculated killer Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins). Through courtroom testimony, private investigations and other conversations, the story unfolds. Some of the nuances of the film come through character, so Gosling determined everything from Willy's wardrobe to his diet.
Gosling Feels for the Fracture
For court, Willy wears the same old suit to each hearing. "The character is broke but he’s got to blend in with people with money," said Gosling. "So we thought it might be an interesting idea that he would go to thrift stores and buy suits for like $20, vintage suits for $20, get them tailored for $50 Downtown, and that he would put out $100 but he would have this suit that looks good and he could pass off as being a fashion statement as opposed to being able to try defend why he can’t afford Armani suits."
Willy eats a lot also, and Gosling gained a few pounds for the role. "It was one of those things where it was a guy that never slept obviously because he was working two jobs and couldn’t really be sleeping, and so we just kind of made him this sugar-freak. He was always eating Jelly Bellies. Every day I would show up on set and I had a huge bag of Jelly Bellies and I’d try and make it through."
Having just earned an Oscar nomination for his intense performance in Half Nelson, going to the studio thriller was a slightly different task. "You obviously can’t spend as much time on those things because it’s a plot-driven movie. It’s a thriller. A movie like Half Nelson is about those shades of grey and you have a whole movie to explore those. A movie like this it’s very different and requires a totally different technique and acting style, something I’d never done before. And for me, it’s what makes this job fun is that I can go from something like Half Nelson, like a $500,000 movie about nothing and explore that. And to go to this movie, which is a much bigger movie and it’s just completely plot-driven."
There's truly no judgment in Gosling's distinctions. Fracture offered just as many rewards for the actor. "I liked the character. Most movies like this, in this genre, they’re like really virtuous guys, like natural heroes waiting to come out. And this guy’s not. He’s not good. He’s not a good guy, and he never really is. He’s the good guy in the movie because he’s better than Anthony’s character but he’s not really that good, and he’s not bad, and he’s ok with that. As long as he’s not a bad guy he can live with it. And he’s just naturally kind of a narcissistic, self-obsessed, selfish guy with tons of ambition. And he’s kind of put in a situation in this movie where if he lets a woman die for a promotion, he’s going to officially be a guy he doesn’t want to be. So he reluctantly does the right thing. In the whole film doing the right thing is kind of a pain in the ass for him, and he never makes some kind of huge moral shift. He just reluctantly walks that line, and I thought that that was probably more realistic."
Fracture opens to theatres on April 20th.
For the trailer, poster, stills and more movie info, go to the Fracture
Movie Page.
Stay tuned for updates.
|
Add to Heffee!
