The Life of David Gale

If you're a fan of Kevin Spacey's, you will not be let down by "The Life of David Gale." Do not read reviews. Do not watch stuff about it on television. Just go see it and experience it for yourself. It's not a perfect film by any stretch (as many, MANY critics have been pointing out), but it does grab you and it does deliver.

Directed by the legendary Sir Alan Parker, this is the story of David Gale, a University of Texas professor of philosophy against capital punishment who is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

Kevin Spacey and Laura Linney deliver great performances in the flashbacks. This movie is by far one of Spacey's strongest performances, he is always very subtle and insightful portraying David Gale. Laura Linney really makes a name for herself in this motion picture, she's as consistently complex and likable here as she is in "Primal Fear" and "You Can Count on Me". Kate Winslet, however, has problems in carefully crafting her character. She's called upon to cry about four or five times in this film and each time she does so, the action unfortunately rings more and more false. Other than that, she is average. Meanwhile, Gabriel Mann, Leon Rippy and Matt Craven also provide colorful backdrops to the story at hand with their credible supporting characters.

"The Life of David Gale" is a film that had a great opportunity to create controversy about the death penalty. Unfortunately, it is excessively underrated by critics, despite being nominated for the Human Rights Award from the Political Film Society and being present at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.

Sad and stunning. 8/10

Kevin Spacey stars as David Gale, a life long campaigner against the death penalty finds himself on death row after being found guilty of the rape and murder of a fellow anti-execution campaigner. Kate Winslet is the reporter who interviews Gale during his last three days and she is convinced of his guilt and need to be executed, but as she interviews Gale she begins to question his guilt.

This was a great story very well told without deteriorating into a 'execution is wrong' lecture. And as usual, Kevin Spacey's performance is fantastic. Because of the twists and the amount of after-thought it provoked, I give 'The Life of David Gale' 8/10.

** 1/2 out of ****

The Life of David Gale was slammed by critics for being a sanctimonious preachfest. I prefer to view the movie as a mystery/thriller with the death penalty views as a background for its plot. Seen as thus, this is a mostly satisfying thriller, packed with just the right amount of twists and turns, red herrings, and intriguing characters to entertain for its two-hour running time.

Kate Winslet (look prettier than ever) star as Bitsey Bloom, a journalist who is on task to interview David Gale (Kevin Spacey) before he is to be executed in three days. He was a former professor sentenced for the rape and murder of Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), who along with Gale, were close friends and advocates against the death penalty. As Gale unfolds the tale of the last few months of his life before the murder, she slowly begins to believe he might actually be innocent and that the real killer could be very well out there, watching her every move.

As I said before, The Life of David Gale is a very entertaining thriller. Seen as just that, a thriller, it does have its flaws, some of it pertaining to Winslet. Her performance is actually quite good, it's that, as is the case with a lot of movies in this genre, the "detectives" are usually the least well-developed characters, simply because they're there to gather the facts and piece the clues together. The only things we know about her is that she's determined and very tenacious.

Both Spacey and Linney are excellent, convincing in their portrayals of normal individuals who suffer plenty of heartbreak in their lives, with the latter eventually losing hers in a brutal manner. Spacey, during the interview scenes, exudes an aura of mystery and quiet uneasiness, basically the same style of acting he's relied on almost his entire career. Still, he's good at it, but one wonders when he'll really break out into something completely different.

The film runs smoothly for most of its running time, and the movie's first big twist, revealed with about a half-hour left, caught me off-guard, in a good way. It's the final scene that irks me. That last shot should have been omitted from the film, as it negates the purpose of much of what went on the previous two hours and might even make you lose complete respect for one of its major characters. Director Alan Parker obviously meant for this shot to chill us, and while it will probably to that effect initially, you're going to feel cheated once the credits have rolled.

Ive been reading some of the user comments here on IMDB, and am a little stunned that most of them didnt really get the plot, and therefore shouldnt really comment on how "bad" it is. Like Winslet not having any chance in understanding the plot, thats the entire point of the movie, and if you didnt get that, you should not comment on how "bad" it is.

This movie is by far Spacey's strongest performance since the magical Se7en. Actually, all leading actors gives amazing performances in this movie that has a plot taken out from heaven. It will leave you moping, gasping for air. Giving Hollywood stick for a "too complicated script" is silly, since its far too seldom Hollywood actually offers a script like this. I would rather welcome that fact, than be mad about it.

If you feel you have what it takes to crack this puzzle before it unveals, go see this movie instantly, and be prepared to be taken on a journey.