“The Life of David Gale” (Universal Pictures)
“The Life of David Gale” will be seen by some as too preachy, but for those who look on it only as a piece of entertainment it borders on being one of the best movies so far this year. Director Alan Parker has assembled an amazing cast to bring his dramatic story to life. Kate Winslet, Gabriel Mann, Matt Craven, Laura Linney, and especially Kevin Spacey put their hearts and souls into making each character as true as possible.
In the film Bitsey Bloom (Winslet) has been summoned from her New York magazine to Texas to interview David Gale (Spacey). She is his choice to tell his story and he has granted her three interviews in the week preceding his execution. Gale has been on death row for eight years but now he wants to talk and he only wants to talk with Bitsey.
Bitsey and her intern Zack (Mann) go to Texas and there Bitsey falls under Gale’s spell. He convinces her he is not guilty of Constance Harraway’s (Laura Linney) death. The way she sees it he is being framed. Now it is up to her to find the way to save his life as the clock moves slowly toward the execution hour.
We have all seen this basic plot time and time again but this time it is different. I can’t tell you how it is different, but trust me – it is. This is not “Dead Man Walking” told one more time.
The characters in the film are all beautifully created and loom in your memory long after the film has ended. And the intricacies of the plot work their way through your mind and create moments of study and introspection. When was the last time you had that happen!
The film is rated R for nudity, violence and profanity.
Winslet shows that “Titanic” was not a fluke. She is an actress who gets better and better with each substantive role she takes. The same is true of Linney. She is staggering as the doomed Constance. But it is Spacey who holds the film together. He is tortured and tense, drunk and disgusting; but inside there always shines a light of hope and reason. No actor alive today can handle complex roles like he can. He knows his character backwards and forwards and never makes a mistake in his rendering.
Don’t slough off “David Gale” because it has a message. Go see it for the dramatic impact and the beauty of its characters. You won’t see better ensemble acting than this.
I scored “The Life of David Gale” a livable 7 out of 10.
