★★
After his wife and injured daughter disappear from the emergency room, a man becomes convinced the hospital is hiding something.
Classification: 15
With a mystery and twist that becomes glaringly obvious from the beginning of the premise, Netflix's latest thriller has a compelling atmosphere and lead performance but not enough of a hook to keep an audience thoroughly engaged. Director Brad Anderson wants to have the audience doubt what there seeing with Fractured as the main character Ray Monroe becomes increasingly frantic as he tries to discover what has happened to his wife and child. Sam Worthington gives a fine performance as a man whose world is collapsing around him as his sympathetic story quickly comes into question but Anderson's direction can't find consistency in how the mystery unfolds.
The intrigue of Fractured lies in the fate of what happened to Monroe's wife and daughter who Ray last say entering an elevator in the hospital for an X-Ray. Anderson and screenwriter Alan B. McElroy feeding clues and red herrings on what nefarious reasoning maybe for the disappearance such as references to organ donation or a psychologist played by Adjoa Andoh who begins to manipulate Monroe's recollections. Everything feels shady on both sides, Anderson is successful in creating a complete aura of distrust but really nails the anxiety of a missing child. Worthington's growing frustration in his performance is natural as he tries to stay calm during the hospitals initial clerical stonewalling and becomes outright confrontational when no one can give him a straight answer. The film wants to make an unreliable narrator out of Worthington's Monroe but having the doctors and authorities question every element of his story but this technique isn't as effective due to the first 30 minutes focusing entirely on Monroe's relationship with his family. The script introduces flaws within Monroe to make him more untrustworthy such as a drinking problem and troubling history with an ex-wife but Anderson or McElroy don't do enough to have it be compelling rather than alienating.
Fractured builds a foundation in its characters and setup and then creates its mystery by having the audience question everything that has been established. The issue is that there isn't enough to keep the film intriguing, with the premise perhaps better suited for an episode of the Twilight Zone than a feature-length film. Worthington's portrayal of Monroe keeps him interesting as his motivations are universally sympathetic but the pacing of the film drags in the second act as it can't keep up the momentum. Anderson wants the audience to simultaneously trust and distrust everyone; Monroe, the doctors, the police, the gas station attendant which makes for a compelling thriller but the film doesn't have the mystery to back it up. A subplot against Monroe is that due to a head injury he sustained at the beginning of the film, he has subsequently fabricated the existence of his family and he is suffering a psychotic break. At this point, it becomes obvious what directions Fractured is going to explore and Anderson or McElroy do very little to make it fresh or original.
Even with a grim atmosphere and engaging lead performance, Fractured still feels like a disappointment not because of its revelations but because of its lack of creativity in executing its story. The film overcomplicates itself to further the runtime and even with its twists or misdirections every reveal feels obvious. With only two possible endings available by the third act; either the hospital kidnapped the family or didn't, Anderson doesn't seize an opportunity to do anything unique with the premise. There lies the issue with Fractured it's a film that can only really go two ways and Anderson jumps between both paths to stretch out his runtime and leaves both conclusions for the story disappointing.
Director: #BradAnderson
Release Date: October 11th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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