The first thing one notices about this movie is the music, which is atmospheric & moody, & sets the tone nicely. The next thing one notices is the way the onscreen credits drift apart, becoming 'fractured.' It's clever, & also helps set the tone.
The story is about an up-&-coming DA, Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) who, upon the eve of his leaving the DA's office for a cushy private sector job, gets a case: that of Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins), who has shot his wife. The case seems open-&-shut; Crawford freely confessed, & had the gun in his hand when police arrived. However, things are not as they seem.
More of a 'howdunit' than a 'whodunit,' this movie is about figuring out how Crawford got rid of the evidence when it seemed to be in plain sight, & whether or not Crawford will get away with his crime. Anthony Hopkins is as wonderful as always as the villain, although we would have liked him to be a bit more sinister (though one would caution the director not to walk too deeply into 'Silence of the Lambs' territory). Ryan Gosling is good as the very confident Beachum, & David Strathairn does a fine job as his boss.
Overall, an entertaining film. Oddly, though, the sneak peeks included in the extras are adverts already shown at the beginning of the film, & not really extras at all. Plus the two alternate endings are hardly different -- they're practically identical; nor are they terribly different from the original.
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