Fracture

Fracture came out around the same time as In My Father's Den, another Maurice Gee adaptation, and seemed to disappear from the public eye as quickly as IMFD became THE NZ film of the year in 2004 and, for many, the great NZ film we had been waiting for since old PJ started to hint that it might be possible. Which was a big plus for IMFD but a big shame for Frature - for this isn't a bad little film. If not quite up their with its bigger and certainly superior cousin this film is still there or abouts nonetheless, and a lot better than I suspected it might be. The film basically takes its title as the basis for its narrative structure: shards of what turns out to be a relatively simple story are posited within the labyrinthine walkways of Wellington's Kelburn, a hillside suburb renown for its confusing back streets and pathways, vertical steps and an ever-extending university campus. The violence of the fast cutting and swift editing of the opening that includes a bungled burglary and the story's monadic attack on a woman slowly resolves into a violence of a different kind. The cerebral, the domestic, the emotional come under fire from various quarters, culminating in death for one protagonist and a whole swag of grace for another. It seems to work in a similar way to the excellent Lantana, if not pulling off the same emotional intensity. Its good, better than than the other reviewer here might have you believe. Well I think so anyway.

This film is about a young man committing a crime, and how the crime changed 2 families' life and his life forever.

This film is particularly impressive when it comes to the acting performance. Brent, the burglar, goes through emotional turmoil after accidentally paralysing someone. The way he struggles with himself is very well portrayed. The way how he slowly hates himself for having done such a crime is fully shown. The scene where he had to deal with the hand that left fingerprints around was extremely disturbing. Brent's sister also performs well in this film. She is rejected by her parents, and is a victim of domestic violence. She is so desperate for help, but she does not get any.

This film serves as a reflection as to how our little action in daily life can have profound effects on others.

I went to the World Premiere for Fracture on April 1, 2004. The movie started off a bit sluggish in terms of acting and figuring out what was going on. The movie was short in and around Wellington, New Zealand, and from the beginning, the setting has a familiar feel for Wellington residents, with some locations being more obvious than others. It doesn't take long for the initial action to transpire, and from that point, the movie portrays the struggles of two families and how their lives intersect. While some parts of the movie were more convincing than others, I found myself caring about the characters by the end, and that perhaps is what makes this movie a success. It's definitely not a Hollywood production, but that also lets it be a little more real in some ways. This outing has a lot more in common with New Zealand's Once Were Warriors than with Whale Rider. The characters endure their share of violence, and struggle to overcome. We see how families fall apart, but also how they pull together and care for one another.

Kate Elliott plays the central character of Leeanne Rosser. She is a single mother of 20 with a 1 year-old child, who is doing the best she can to raise and love her child, despite some challenges circumstances. Kate does a superb job in this role, and I found myself feeling sorry for her at many times, and being really happy when she succeeded. This was a difficult role to play, as she had to express many different types of emotions, and she did quite well.

Aussie Jared Turner played her brother Brent Rosser. Because of the lifestyle choices Brent has chosen, the relationship between Kate and Brent is strained, but Kate's character is the kind that does her best to care for those she loves. Brent's actions early on in the movie affect multiple characters negatively, though they affect him the most, as he hides inside himself. Jared's acting, due to the nature of the script, is primarily nonverbal, but fairly convincing. Mostly, he looks afraid and desperate, and the story shows what happens to a desperate person. Some aspects of it were over-the-top I think, but I could relate to his fear somewhat.

Not to be missed in this picture are some notable cast members. John Noble, most recently starring as Denethor in Lord of the Rings, plays patriarch Howie Peet. Director Larry Parr's son Julian Arahanga, perhaps best known as Apoc from The Matrix, plays Detective Harawira. Popular New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis, who had parts in both Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors, among others, plays Inspector Franklin. You can find more information about the film at the New Zealand Film Commission's website, who helped produce the film.

Novels that work don't necessarily translate well into good films; so much depends on the scriptwriter and the director. This film lacks the finesse that one could expect from top notch exponents of both, but does have redeeming merits. From a parochial standpoint it makes good use of Wellington locations (where both novel and film are set), both suburban and downtown, including the old main Wellington Hospital building which happened to be demolished about the time the film premiered. The 20-year-old sister seems rather inept at finding herself a solo mother from a fling with Samoan rugby star even if she adores the baby, but her less than happy circumstances pale in comparison with her burglar brother to whom she has unfailing loyalty. Interspersing that with the saga of the other family of whom the mother is one of the burglar brother's more unfortunate victims gets a little messy visually and plotwise at times, and I found myself pondering ways it could have been done better. The acting is patchy: the females are good overall, the males less so. Good that this was made, a pity the result wasn't better.