The Life of David Gale Movie Review:

There is an old saying that states, "Don’t shoot the messenger!" After witnessing David Gale, some audience members may get so absorbed in the message that they will forget what the film is about. Or what it is trying to accomplish.

Professor David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is a disbarred philosophy professor who is sitting on death row for rape and murder. His victim was Constance Hallaway (Laura Linney), a death penalty advocate who used to call Gale a friend. Gale was also a part of her crusade to save condemned men. Hence the irony to where Gale sits.

Enter, Bitsy Bloom (Kate Winslet), a crusader herself who wants nothing that to be the best and most stalwart journalist she can be. Probably the reason why Gale asked her to come and tell his story. Was Gale wrongfully convicted? If so, what kind of conspiracy put him there? It is up to Bitsy and her rather lanky assistant, Zack (Gabriel Mann), to unravel the mystery, if there is one.

It seems to me that Kevin Spacey has an ability to headline pictures with "blatantly" obvious messages housed in haphazard scripts. The first being the awful "Pay it Forward" and the second being this picture. Don’t get me wrong, Gale is a lot more involving and interesting to absorb than "Pay It Forward". Gale may also bring audience members to break out into fist fights upon exiting the theatre as I am sure there will be a war of words after the film’s shocking and cryptic ending is unraveled. In "Pay It Forward’s" case, the audience would be frantically hugging each other and screaming, "I love you, man!"

The problem with both of these films is the delivery of the message within the 120-minute or so running time. No matter if you are for or against capital punishment, any film should let the audience decide. The message shouldn’t overpower the story. Gale suffers from that in many ways and the film’s impact hinges on the film’s conclusion.

I really found Gale, as a movie, to be uneven and circumstantial in a lot of ways. I really felt involved when the film focused on Gale’s life but was bored to tears when we came back to find Bitsy debating with Zack. How Bitsy would stumble upon clues and plot devices were all pretty elementary to dumbest of Sherlock’s. I gather that the filmmakers wanted the audience to be characterized within Bitsy and Zack thus pulling away from Gale’s plight. The film doesn’t accomplish that feat.

Kevin Spacey could be considered one of the best actors working today and his performance of Gale is restrained and edgy but also sympathetic. I really enjoyed Spacey in this film even though the film’s script did get a little preachy. The performance to be noted had to be that of Laura Linney but the filmmakers allowed the actress to play with every Oscar moment cliché in a film’s arsenal to achieve her stellar performance.

Good movies such as "Roe vs. Wade", "Mississippi Burning", "And the Band Played On" or "The Laramie Project", all delivered powerful messages but allowed the audience to enjoy the story without getting bludgeoned to death by the message.

The more I debated my feelings toward this film, the more I kept returning to "Pay It Forward". Gale does manipulate you in a different way than "Pay It Forward" but you still used after its conclusion. I wanted to critique the film on it’s merits as a mystery and thriller but once you take out its message you are left with squat.

Am I to a victim of the film’s message? Please don’t shoot this messenger.

(2.5 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

The Life of David Gale is a film that was merely made as propaganda against capital punishment. The film itself is a flawed one that is ridiculously over dramatized. Whether you are against or for the death penalty, this film still slams its message on the audience over and over again.

The story is some what based on a true story about a Texas professor named Dr. David Gale (Spacey). He is a scholarly professor that is also one of the state's leading abolitionists against the death penalty. To add more drama, Gale is sentenced to death row for raping and killing Constance Harraway (Linney), his abolitionist partner and best friend. Three days until his execution, Gale summons a young New York journalist named Bitsey Bloom (Winslet) to write the story of his innocence. Bloom agrees to do the story by interviewing Gale, which will for sure grab her fame. Gale tells his story through three interviews, which all progress through flashbacks. Through these interviews, Bloom begins finding clues to prove that either Gale is innocent or guilty. The film then turns into a potboiler that wants tension-filled thrills, but truly lacks them.

Alan Parker is a wonderful director, but The Life of David Gale has to be the worst film he has ever made. Parker's previous credits include, Midnight Express (1978), The Wall (1982), Mississippi Burning (1988), Evita (1996), and Angela's Ashes (1999). Parker knows prison material (Midnight Express) and unspeakable hatred (Mississippi Burning), but the outcome of The Life of David Gale is just weak. The flashbacks become somewhat boring and predictable until its final few sequences. The thrills and emotions of the film are so over dramatized that there are truly dreadful moments in the story. Parker does some unique things, like quick cuts with important one-word phrases on chalkboards or notepads at the beginning of the flashbacks, but his overall direction is somewhat bland.

The Life of David Gale is based on a true story, but the writing of the script makes the film so fictional that it is really ludicrous. Of course, there are mechanical problems through the film that try to grab tension like a car breaking down. There is the mysterious stereotypical follower, which is a cowboy in a pickup truck. I kept wandering if he is following you and creeping you out, then why not call the police. The whole truth and outcome of the film becomes clear, but I rather research the real events that happened before commenting on this area. The political message of opposing capital punishment is really visible and really in the audience's face. This is somewhat fine; there have been other fine films that express similar victims with confidence (Dead Man Walking (1995), A Time to Kill (1996)). However, the opposition is thrusted over and over, and over again, that the story of David Gale, which is one that should be told, is created into a big piece of propaganda. Maybe if the story would have remained accurate and not been so filtered, it might have been admirable.

The acting cast of the film is comprised of some great actors. Kevin Spacey is about as good as they get, his performance is solid especially when acting intoxicated, but rested at the back of his career choices. Kate Winslet finally gets a studio vehicle role, but isn't given much to work with as Bitsey Bloom, even though her performance is stellar. The best performance of the film is by Laura Linney, who is so underrated and absolutely sound as the abolitionist Constance Harraway.

The Life of David Gale is a blemished film that is watchable at times, but just seems to keep hammering the same nail deeper and deeper. I mostly don't like propaganda films, though I contradict myself by naming Bowling for Columbine (2002) the best film of 2002, in which it was purely informational. However, it was a documentary, which is what The Life of David Gale should have probably been, not a fictional over dramatized film that is based on a true story.

Report Card Grade: D+

02/24/03
By

Joseph Tucker

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of The Life of David Gale and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.