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Ever feel as though you have been hit by a sledgehammer after viewing a film? Scriptwriters and/or directors (in this case, Charles Randolph and Alan Parker) emphasize their point over and over. Thus is the saga of The Life of David Gale. The plot deals with abolition of the death penalty in the guise of trying to free a convicted man who may be innocent. In case you don't realize that some people are against the death penalty, there is a debate within the film, with Kevin Spacey spouting statistics, including a humorous one about "73 percent of serial killers vote Republican."

_The Life of David Gale_ has Spacey ("K-Pax") as a college professor who has founded a group called DeathWatch, opposing capital punishment. Though why he found it is not explained. His comrade-in-arms is Laura Linney, just as dedicated as Spacey. The story unfolds in flashbacks, as the audience first meets Spacey on Death Row. He invites a reporter (Kate Winslet, who brings along her intern, Gabriel Mann) to conduct three interviews on the four days before he dies. We see Spacey's past and how he was falsely accused of rape by a student, his dissolving marriage, fall into alcoholism and close friendship with the DeathWatch team. When there is a rape/murder (be aware of a horrifying death scene) evidence points to Spacey and he is convicted, but is he guilty?

The story is set in Texas, and there is enough good-old-boy language to convince the audience that these people mean business at execution time. The story is pro-life and asks how society would feel if it convicted an innocent man. Spacey does a piercing job as the college professor who truly believes in saving a life but finds his own slowly unwinding. Laura Linney, as his closest friend, also believes in saving lives, and one wonders if her character could conduct a military campaign as efficiently as she keeps DeathWatch together. Kate Winslet goes over the top as the reporter who is known to protect her sources. There are too many wide-eyed gazes from her; also, if you have trouble with a car once, get it checked out! On the other hand, Gabriel Mann as the young newspaper intern strikes just the right chord as the guy who came along for the ride and ends up hanging on for dear life. Matt Craven plays a DeathWatch devotee who rides in a beat-up old pick-up, lives in a crumbling shack and loves opera. One would expect country music to come blaring through his open windows, but no, it is arias.

The Life of David Gale has some good lines, one being "The Bible Belt has more churches than Starbucks" or when David applies for a job at "Radio Shed." Charles Randolph's original script has enough red herrings to keep people interested and some oddities tossed in such as the cowboy-who-loves-opera. The governor of Texas is embarrassed on national television by Gale and you just know when David is arrested the book will be thrown at him. If you didn't know a dramatic moment was coming, the music will inform you. Excuse the pun, but it is overkill. There is rally after rally to stay an execution, only to have the stay denied and someone dramatically drawing a red "X" through a picture. By the way, why name Winslet's character, "Bitsey?" It doesn't fit her. I would have liked to know more about Winslet, anyway. There are references to her spending time in prison for protecting sources. Something more here would have added to the depth of her character.

If you think you have met dedicated people in your life--and I mean people who would do anything for a cause--then you have met a David Gale and associates. As it stands, The Life of David Gale makes the audience feel as though they had been at a two-hour lecture about the death penalty. Nonetheless, whether you are for it or against it, the theme presented here is thought-provoking, though done heavy-handedly.

Copyright 2003 Marie Asner
 2/25/03