FRACTURED (NETFLIX) (2019)

SYNOPSIS: Ray Monroe (Sam Worthington), and his wife Joanne (Lily Rabe) rush their daughter to the emergency room of a nearby hospital after she is hurt in an accident. After being sent away for further testing, his wife and daughter vanish and all records of their visit disappear. Ray’s concern turns into a desperate race to find his family and discover the truth of what happened to them.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Fractured is very much similar in terms of plot execution to the 2005 psychological thriller, Flight Plan which starred Jodie Foster. In the latter, Foster’s character loses her daughter while onboard a flight with none of the passengers and crew “remember” her bringing a child along. In Fractured however, it’s Sam Worthington’s turn to lose his love ones. 

The movie opens with a family of three inside a car. A man named Ray (Worthington) and his wife, Joanne (Lily Rabe) are urging over a thanksgiving dinner and their conversation hints of a supposedly crumbling relationship. Ray seems to have some issues but at this point, the clues are minimal and we are just plain curious to see what happens next. Before long, their young daughter, Peri has a fall near a convenience store and Ray has to rush her to the nearby hospital.   

It took a long while before a certain doctor named Dr Berthram arrives to examine Peri and finally, a CT scan is scheduled for Peri and Joanne is admitted for some checkup. In the meantime, Ray is waiting patiently in the lobby until the next morning, no one in the hospital remember seeing Peri nor Joanne, not even the CCTV footages which kickstarts all the suspense and mystery of Fractured.    

Fractured of course is no highbrow detective story or a solid psychological thriller. But Brad Anderson who broke into the scene with Session 9 and The Machinist (which starred an emaciated Christian Bale) together with Alan B. McElroy who wrote Halloween 4 and Wrong Turn certainly knows how to piece up a familiar story on a shoestring budget to keep viewers occupied for 100 minutes. Anything more than that, loopholes are going to pop liked popcorns. 

Set in a cold winter, the entire movie is further color correct to deprive of any bright colors and tones. Perhaps this is to foreshadow Ray’s state of mind. Is this all part of Ray’s imagination? Why did he keep mentioning his deceased first wife, Abby? Is the hospital involved in illegal organs harvesting as what he suspects? Could the culprit be the creepy convenience store owner or the hospital receptionist? Fractured easily keeps the guessing game going until the macabre ending. 

Again, this is one thriller that is well-worth to watch on the small screen with Sam Worthington’s tense performance successfully delivering some striking moments. Worthington’s big screen presence might have dwindled over the years but there’s always Avatar 2 – 4 to look forward to.    

MOVIE RATING:

Review by Linus Tee