The Life Of
David Gale (2003)
crime drama
directed
by : Alan Parker
featuring
: Kevin Spacey - Kate Winslet - Laura Linney - Gabriel Mann - Matt Craven
running
time : 2 hours 10 minutes
The mystery of one man's guilt or innocence
literally becomes a matter of life and death in this drama. David Gale
(Kevin Spacey) was the head of the philosophy department at Austin University
and the author of several well-regarded books; he was also an active and
visible member of Deathwatch, an anti-capital punishment activist group.
One of Gale's best friends was Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), a fellow
Deathwatch activist with whom he became especially close, particularly
since Gale's wife, Sharon (Elizabeth Gast), who had taken a lover in Spain,
was usually absent. One night, Gale was seduced by an attractive student
from his class, Berlin (Rhona Mitra), who had too much to drink; later,
the remorseful student accused Gale of rape. While Gale was eventually
cleared of the charges, the negative publicity cost him his career as an
educator, and with no job and no wife, Gale turned to drink. When Harraway
was found raped and murdered a few years later, Gale was charged with the
crime, and convicted despite the best efforts of his well-meaning but ineffectual
lawyer Braxton Belyeu (Leon Rippy). Now Gale awaits execution, and less
than a week before his date with the fatal injection, Gale agrees to tell
his story to Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet), a nervy journalist from a major
newsmagazine, who arrives with her assistant, Zack Stemmons (Gabriel Mann).
As Bloom discusses the facts of the Harraway murder with Gale, it occurs
to her that the details simply don't add up, and soon a mysterious stranger
slips evidence to her that suggests Gale has been framed -- leaving Bloom
and Stemmons only a few days to solve the mystery and save Gale from the
executioner. The Life Of David Gale was co-produced by actor Nicolas Cage,
who originally commissioned the script and intended to star in the film
before prior commitments led him to hand the project over to director Alan
Parker.
The Life Of David Gale serves
up an ending so illogical that the film collapses under the weight of its
intellectual dishonesty, and silliness. Parker and former philosophy professor
turned first-time screenwriter Charles Randolph attempt to fashion a thriller
flavored with deep philosophical thoughts on capital punishment, the purpose
of life, and martyrdom. Transparent B-movie clichés consistently
undermine whatever intelligence the heavy-handed philosophical discussions
bring to the film. And while the high-end academic talk could provide a
couple of moments of intellectual interest, they come off as little more
than a pretentious way to beef up a lifeless mystery. The film's denouement
manages to render everything that has come before utterly unnecessary and
intellectually dishonest. That the film wastes the time and talent of such
a gifted cast makes it even more painful to watch. However, the actors
and actresses have nobody but themselves to blame, as the huge deficiencies
in the film would have been recognizable with any intelligent reading of
the screenplay. The Life Of David Gale wants to keep the audience guessing,
but it ends up leaving a thinking viewer at best dismayed, and at worst
angry and annoyed.