I recently saw a couple of entertaining thrillers that I think are good summer viewing, The Hoax and Fracture.
The Hoax is based on a true story about a publishing hoax by writer Clifford Irving, Richard Gere at his best, selling an autobiography of Howard Huges without having met or interviewed him. The plot is engaging as the actors bring the characters o life. Lasse Hallstrom does an excellent job of recreating 70s America with locations, props, hairstyles, clothes, music and even the film stock and film clips. There are standout supporting performances by the likes of Alfred Molina as his researcher and best friend Dick Susskind and Marcia Gay Harden as his wife Edith. There are several other cameos by the likes of Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Julie Deply and Eli Wallach.
Fracture is a thriller about a very intelligent aeronautics designer, Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal Lecture mode, who finds out his wife is cheating on him and tries to enact the perfect crime. The supposedly slam dunk case is given to up and coming prosecutor Willy Beachum, with a nuanced performance by Ryan Gosling, who is leaving the DA’s office for a high paying private sector job following this trial. Needless to say complications ensue and Gosling is embarrassed in the courtroom. I think the well-written script with plot twist that play out like revelations and the high caliber acting takes this beyond the B list of thrillers.
Comments