The Life of David Gale (R, 2003)

This drama centers on Texas philosophy professor turned death row inmate David Gale (Kevin Spacey), who agrees to his first interview just days before he is to be executed for a brutal rape/murder. David and the murder victim, Constance (Laura Linney) had been co-leaders of a group that opposed the death penalty. He will speak to only one journalist, a reporter for a weekly news magazine named Bitsy (Kate Winslet) who herself has just been released after serving a week in prison for refusing to reveal a source. The terms of the interview are that David will be paid half a million dollars in cash and that Bitsy will see him for two hours a day on the last three days before the execution. Is the evidence against David overwhelming? Does Bitsy come to believe he is innocent? Does possibly exonerating evidence show up at almost the last minute?

Somewhere between potboiler and polemic, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE is an overripe melodrama that signals every one of its plot twists as ham-handedly as it bangs out its message. Does the car break down so that Bitsy has to run to the prison at the real last minute? Do people in this movie continually behave in the dopiest possible way in an unsuccessful attempt to create some suspense and conceal the "surprise" ending? Oh, yes. Does it work? Oh, no.

Spacey and Winslet give their weakest performances ever. Linney manages one brief believable moment when she is discussing Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' stages in confronting death (though she gets them in the wrong order). The best performance is by Matt Craven as another opponent of the death penalty. He has almost no lines but manages to bring a little dignity to his moments on screen.

Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Alan Parker
Cast: Kate Winslet, Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney
Genre: Drama
Run time: 130 minutes
Theatrical release: February 21, 2003
DVD release: July 22, 2003
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: violent images, nudity, language and sexuality