Fracture Reaction Paper
ENGL 1600
21 October 2013
Chasing Real Rabbits There is a greyhound named Cash. He has been racing for his owner for three years, won every race that he has entered, and is in the prime of his career. Cash shows no signs of slowing down and is the envy of the dog racing community. One day, Cash and his owner are relaxing on the front porch of their house and Cash says to his owner, “I think that it’s time for me to retire.” Shocked, the owner replies,
“Have I wronged you? Have I mistreated you or been unfair to you?” “No,” replied Cash.
“Then what’s the matter? You are at the prime of your career with endless victories and awards to come!”
“Well,” said Cash, “I finally figured out that the rabbits I was chasing around the race track are fake.” In the film Fracture (2007), Ryan Gosling plays the character of Willy Beachum, a young, charismatic, and successful prosecutor working for the DA’s office in Los Angeles. When Willy meets privately for the first time with Ted Crawford, played by Anthony Hopkins, Mr. Crawford says that Willy’s weakness is that fact that he is “a winner” (Hoblit, Fracture). Willy disregards the comment without realizing, at least until later in the film, that Mr. Crawford is commentating on the authenticity of Willy’s career and life goals. With a prosecution rate of 97%, meaning that he wins nearly all of his cases, Willy has developed a reputation of being one of the best young lawyers in Los Angeles and is quickly moving up the ladder to success in the legal world. The importance of Willy as a character in this film is the reason behind his success and what drives him to win. Willy is introduced as a person who is motivated by the bolstering of his resume; someone who cares deeply about what his achievements say about him and seeks wins simply for the accolades that accompany it. This can be seen in his win percentage itself. When DA Joe Lobruto (David Strathairn) points out that Willy traded all of his losing cases, Willy
21 October 2013
Chasing Real Rabbits There is a greyhound named Cash. He has been racing for his owner for three years, won every race that he has entered, and is in the prime of his career. Cash shows no signs of slowing down and is the envy of the dog racing community. One day, Cash and his owner are relaxing on the front porch of their house and Cash says to his owner, “I think that it’s time for me to retire.” Shocked, the owner replies,
“Have I wronged you? Have I mistreated you or been unfair to you?” “No,” replied Cash.
“Then what’s the matter? You are at the prime of your career with endless victories and awards to come!”
“Well,” said Cash, “I finally figured out that the rabbits I was chasing around the race track are fake.” In the film Fracture (2007), Ryan Gosling plays the character of Willy Beachum, a young, charismatic, and successful prosecutor working for the DA’s office in Los Angeles. When Willy meets privately for the first time with Ted Crawford, played by Anthony Hopkins, Mr. Crawford says that Willy’s weakness is that fact that he is “a winner” (Hoblit, Fracture). Willy disregards the comment without realizing, at least until later in the film, that Mr. Crawford is commentating on the authenticity of Willy’s career and life goals. With a prosecution rate of 97%, meaning that he wins nearly all of his cases, Willy has developed a reputation of being one of the best young lawyers in Los Angeles and is quickly moving up the ladder to success in the legal world. The importance of Willy as a character in this film is the reason behind his success and what drives him to win. Willy is introduced as a person who is motivated by the bolstering of his resume; someone who cares deeply about what his achievements say about him and seeks wins simply for the accolades that accompany it. This can be seen in his win percentage itself. When DA Joe Lobruto (David Strathairn) points out that Willy traded all of his losing cases, Willy
Cited: Fracture. Dir. Gregory Hoblit. Roadshow, 2007. Streaming.