William Beacham is a young, rising prosecutor with a 97% conviction rate and on his way to a high-paying job in private sector. His soon to be ex boss (whom his employees refer to as ‘God’) tries to convince him to stay in his job, because this is where he “belongs”, to which William reacts:
“I didn’t work so hard to stay where I belong.”
It seems that William has it all under control, and nothing can prevent him to stepping into his new career, and a new life which also includes a relationship with the senior law partner (played by Rosamund Pike).
What can go wrong?
He meets Anthony Hopkins. Luckily, this isn’t Silence of The Lambs.
It’s Fracture.
In the last minutes of his career as a top public prosecutor he gets assigned a case which looks like winning 100%. Hopkins is charged with an attempted murder, however the prosecution has his signed confession and a murder weapon.
The police officer who works on the case warns Gosling that this case isn’t what it seems to be, and points to his overconfidence or better yet, the lack of preparedness to win it. Gosling reacts:
“Don’t worry about it.”
When people tell you not to worry about something, that is a sure sign that you should worry.
The mystery begins when Gosling receives a phone call, that the murder weapon has no prints.
In the next hour or so Gosling learns how it feels like to lose his first case, play cards with a devil (Hopkins is highly intelligent but also can’t control all the external events) and potentially give up on his dream job.
What keeps him going, at least in the beginning, is his naivete and ego (we need both) but what brings him to his finish line is his ever-evolving character.
Willy (Gosling), as Hopkins demeaningly calls him, is a learner who realises that Hopkins is playing a game he thinks he can’t lose.
What the character of Gosling learns, is the power of:
HUMILITY
Never underestimate the opponent, never walk-in unprepared into a courtroom (a meeting) and never rely on improvisation. Never believe you have all the answers, especially when people around you are warning you that you don’t.
INSTINCTS
Never stop relying on your own judgement and instincts, despite the circumstances calling for humility. Adapt as you go along but never forget your strengths and the reasons you’re in the position that you’re in (a winning prosecutor with a 97% conviction rate).
RESILIENCE
Never give up. Activate the courage within you to do what you believe is right. Always rely on yourself.
PURPOSE, VALUES
Ensure that you’re playing the game that supports your purpose and values. Only when losing his first trial ever and and initially failing does Gosling realise, that his ex boss was right all along. He was in the right place as a public prosecutor.
He was working hard, so he could stay in the one place.
That’s where he belonged.
Image: Ryan Gosling in Fracture, 2007.