Das Leben des David Gale

The Life of David Gale (2003)

Whether you are pro or anti death penalty, there's not getting past the sensational, brave, and maybe insane elements of this story. Based on fact about a death row inmate who had been famous as a death row protester, the core of the movie is how a young reporter (a convincing Kate Winslet) interviews the inmate (an equally convincing Kevin Spacey) in the days before his scheduled execution. We are gradually shown the backstory through their interviews, and another story builds as the reporter chases down new leads, including missing video evidence. Laura Linney plays an important third lead that starts to throw doubts into everyone's mind, including the audience's.

All of this sounds like a great movie should have come out of it: superb casting and acting, a great story with believable but astounding twists, and a nice tight framework, day by day, with methodical flashbacks. Instead the movie both tries too hard and fumbles some of the key moments. What is clearly dramatic is sometimes made over-dramatic (Winslet running and running and running, or words like "innocent" spinning across the screen between scenes). Other sensationalist add-ons make the movie cheap (seeing a chaingang neatly working along the road just as they drive by). And simple reactions aren't believable (they way characters respond to someone following them, or to other threats). This is important stuff for a movie trying to recreate the truth.

By my guess, the director is the key suspect, though he has a raft of successful films behind him, including the closest echo, Midnight Express (1978), which is about injustice and a prisoner who is extraordinary. But in all his films (that I've seen, which is quite a few, it turns out), there is a feeling of powerful story line carrying the day (Mississippi Burning, Birdy). Parker has also made a series of films tied to contemporary music, from Evita which is fair to The Commitments which is terrific fun, as well as The Wall, which might be his best film in all, though a difficult one. All of these films have a great setting, either musically or geographically.

Here we have only the dull backdrop of conservative Texas (if that's not redundant). And a blazing, heartwrenching story. Which is fair enough as a start. The Life of David Gale is a powerful morality tale, most of all, with some great acting, and many or most people watching will be glad they saw it. All those little flaws fade further and further as you get toward the end.

And then the end, the famous big final twist. That's memorable stuff. Wow.

This film is underrated. Sure, it's a cliche and a social commentary, however it's the storytelling that grabs the viewer. The narrative is fed slowly to the viewer, giving a small piece each time by a possibly unreliable narrator. This is the part to really watch for.

Kate Winslet is the real star of this film. Her ability to take a hard character and ultimately soften her is a difficult task. I admit it's hard to watch a Kevin Spacey film knowing what we do now, especially with the subject matter.

Although the film is considered a disappointment in terms of critical reviews and box office takings, it is worth a watch.

Don't be put off by one movie critic's assessment (morally dishonest, no stars) of this film - he just didn't "get it." This character driven murder mystery is one of the decade's best! Definitely four stars!

The layered conflicts drive the story forward like a Mack truck careening down the side of a mountain, making the movie seem much shorter than its 130 minutes. Kevin Spacey's compelling portrayal of David Gale, a brilliant, principled man with more than his share of human flaws and bad luck, is excellent and is surely Oscar material.

The story begins four days before Gale's execution in a Texas prison. Gale is finally breaking his years of silence by agreeing to tell his side of the story to news-magazine reporter, Bitsey Bloom. Skeptical that this Death Row inmate is out to convince her, and the world, of his innocence, Bitsey takes the assignment expecting it to be a typical, no-brainer.

Gale's story is told in a series of tightly choreographed flashback sequences, each building in character, motive and momentum toward an exciting and most unexpected conclusion.

The story also puts a very fine point on the debate over the death penalty and gives its audience something to talk & think about on the way home.

Not since "Presumed Innocent" have I been so deliciously unable to predict an ending! It is a pleasure to leave the theater feeling completely happy about having invested the price of my ticket in this movie! It is two hours very well spent.

"The Life of David Gale" is a terrific thriller and is one of the best of 2003. Despite going to this movie through the worst date of my life... shudder, I still have nightmares, this movie was the silver lining. I was very excited to see this movie because it has such an awesome actor, obviously Kevin Spacey and then a great actress Kate Winslet.

This political thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat and keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. Wither you're for or against or undecided about the death penalty, this movie gets to you and keeps you thinking after wards about our justice system in the United States. David Gale is an accused murderer on death row, his last few days he requests to be interviewed by Bitsey Bloom, a journalist who likes to keep her mouth shut even when she shouldn't. He tells her his incredible story about from being one of the most respected men in Texas to one of the most hated for being accused of rape.

"No one sees a person when they look through that glass, they see a murderer and a rapist three days shy of his execution". Is he guilty or not? Trying to figure this out in the story you jump to your own conclusion, this man has been accused of rape, murder, he's lost his family and friends. Take away everything and find out if people just overlook cases or if we should judge the first minute we hear one side of the story. The Life of David Gale is an amazing story that will keep you interested. Just trust me, it's a great movie. I can even watch it without having nightmares about my horrific date. :) OK, just watch it.

10/10

It is strange how much this movie was ignored. It doesn't rank on many critics top 10 list and it wasn't a huge box office success anyway. Weird considering it is one of Kevin spacey's best performances. I almost cried at the end so the movie achieved what it set out to achieve.

The movie is about a man named David Gale(Kevin Spacey) who is a philosophy professor and also a anti-death penalty campaigner. He was arrested some time ago and convicted on the crime of raping and murdering a fellow death penalty campaigner named Constance(the gorgeous Laura Linney). He has been given a death sentence. He asks for a reporter during his last week to tell the real story supposedly. That reporter is Bitsey Bloom(Kate winslet) who shows a genuine disinterest at first towards the case but who has a reputation of reporting on difficult and controversial stories. Bitsey bloom travels with her partner Zack to the facility where Gale is held.

The movie has many twists and turns showing the collapse of David Gale's life as he changes from respected philosophy professor to an ostracised man because of some events in his life. These scenes are quite sad and depressing and Gale doesn't have many friends who stand by him in the hour of need. The way the movie flows is actually quite excellent and the revelation in the middle is quite surprising. It doesn't seem like a gimmick and that's where the movie triumphs.

The performances are quite amazing. Kevin Spacey as David Gale has given one of the best performances in his career and Laura Linney as Constance is cute,smart and amazingly compassionate. Kate winslet as Bitsey Bloom also gives a great performance as a woman who starts off as indifferent to the case but then transforms into a woman who feels genuine sympathy for the plight of David Gale. The background music is also quite amazing and this is one of the best in movies. At the very least it should have gotten an award for this category. The music at certain points is quite emotional and towards the end it is one of the reasons for the beautiful climax.

The only problem I have might be the rewatchability factor. I think I might not watch it again. Maybe because it is too depressing. But it should be definitely watched by people who are interested in the issue of death penalty and its accompanying ethical questions. The questions raised by David Gale in the interview with the Texas governor are one of the best examples. That scene alone is enough for people to watch this movie. The movie is also an example of how one mistake changes the life of a respected person in society and how quickly things can change in life if we are not careful about everything we do. So in essence it is not just a movie for death penalty campaigners and those who are interested in the concept of death penalty. But it is also a movie for people who are interested in human nature in general.

9/10