Quote of the Week

I saw the movie Fracture (with Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins) last week. I had previously stayed away from the movie because it seemed like it was just Anthony Hopkins playing another sociopath. But I had heard it was well done (and the cable company was offering it free as part of a movie channel preview week). To my surprise, the movie turns out to be this fascinating and impassioned defense of the value of public sector work and a stinging indictment of corporatism.

My favorite scene in the movie: Ryan Gosling, is at his girlfriend's house for Thanksgiving. He's trying to decide whether to proceed with a high profile murder case in the DA's office or leave for a well-paid job with a corporate law firm. His girlfriend's dad is a judge and gives him a bit of advice in the kitchen:

"You know what nobody understands about certain kinds of low pay public service work? Every now and then you get to put a fucking stake in a bad guy's heart. I'm not supposed to talk about that when I visit third grade classes for career day and it doesn't get you very far in the country club locker room. But its hard to beat when you actually get to do it." Judge Gardner, in the movie Fracture.

Yep, that's it exactly.