Movies News Talk
Sam Worthington plays Ray Monroe, a guy whose family vanishes in a hospital, in Netflix's warped new thriller Fractured. The movie ends shockingly, challenging spectators to consider reality and the depths of human suffering.
Dr. Jacobs (Adjoa Andoh) is sent in to evaluate Ray's mental health after he breaks out from hospital security. Since none on staff could remember him or his family's identities on file, Ray had notified surrounding police and asked the doctor who admitted his daughter for a CAT scan. Dr. Jacobs explores Ray's psyche and finds past trauma from an automobile accident eight years ago that took the life of his first wife. This finding brings them back to the gas station where the event occurred. They discover a bloodstain there, hence Ray concludes he unintentionally killed his child and partner and is suffering a major psychotic break.
Ray, though, is adamant that something evil is happening in the hospital. After breaking into the basement and killing a security guard, he comes discovers an organ-harvesting operation. He gets his family free and heads off. The video shows a horrific reality as daylight breaks: Ray had just released a patient still under anesthesia in an operational theater.
The fall Ray took with Peri killed her; he also unintentionally killed his wife by pressing her head against a nail. Their bodies piled in his car's trunk. Fractured ends with Ray driving away, probably going to be arrested soon, firmly rooted in delusion, thinking he has finally behaved like a loving husband and father.
A turning point in Fractured comes when Ray blackouts following a fall with Peri, therefore separating reality from his warped view. Overwhelmed with failure and frustration, Ray snaps. Peri dies; Joanne is heartbroken. Ray tosses Joanne aside in a flash of wrath and hopelessness, killing her as her head strikes a nail among the building rubble.
The surprise is in Ray's response: he separates his acts, puts the bodies in his car's trunk, and heads to the hospital for treatment. Over this process, he creates a fictional situation whereby he and Joanne are seeking medical assistance for Peri. His body remaining in the trunk, he wakes up from passing out back in reality. Still, he hangs to his invented memories since he thinks he is the object of a scheme.
Ray's insanity gets stronger to keep his illusion that Joanne and Peri are alive as the truth closes in. He murders a police officer, pilfers weapons, takes phony identities. What started out as a terrible accident turns into an unthinkable crime.
Ray's trip in Fractured reminds us shockingly of the effects of trauma. After eight years of bearing the loss of his first wife, Ray twists reality since he cannot stand another tragedy. He is sure he has done the right thing when he at last sees his family in the van and starts to sing with his imagined loved ones. Fractured emphasizes the need of confronting trauma and getting support while facing terrible loss.
Director Brad Anderson's last shot for the movie suggests Ray's ultimate awareness of his activities and trip back to reality. Should this occur, the finale might be far more devastating than first thought. The camera catches Ray's smile, which reflects his imagined delight of singing with his family, then gradually changes into a grimace. It points to a sliver of consciousness alerting one to something wrong. Anderson describes this last shot (via Fresh Fiction):
"After Ray's just performed a song to his child in the rearseat and his wife, the last frame of the movie is a close-up of his face. It makes one feel heroic and successful. 'I completed it! I kept them safe in the hospital from the terrible people. But we kept it rolling, and in the last frames you start to see his expression drop, as though it were suddenly dawning on him."
Ray seems to be living in his own fantasy all through the movie. He will probably undergo psychological assessment once the cops at last capture him. The least of his concerns are the murders of his wife and children; he killed a police officer. The final scene presents a broken man. But the last shot in Fractured suggests that his actual atrocities have only just started and points at a possible return to normalcy.