THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE

By: Abbie Bernstein
Review Date: Friday, February 21, 2003

As a political statement, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE is a lot murkier than seems intended, while as drama, it veers between being almost wrenching in places and borderline silly in others. As a mystery, though, it winds up being pretty decent. However, the main reasons to see the film are the performances of Kevin Spacey and Laura Linney, who are both so terrific that it's easy to wish that DAVID GALE had spent more time on them and less time on the awkward framing device.

David Gale (Spacey), once a respected university professor and outspoken opponent of the death penalty, is now days away from his own execution in Texas, having been convicted of the rape and murder of his colleague and friend Constance Harraway (Laura Linney). Young but important New York magazine journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet), fresh from doing jail time herself to protect a source, is invited to do a series of exclusive interviews with Gale, who has previously refused to speak to the press, over the last three days of his life. Bitsey starts out sure Gale is guilty, but comes to believe he may have been framed. The questions are obviously who, how and why or is Gale lying?

The puzzle

aspect of DAVID GALE works very well, with pieces fitting together fairly yet unpredictably to a point. Once we get the big picture, the final twist is no twist at all. This would be less noticeable if director Alan Parker and writer Charles Randolph didn't keep losing their footing only to find it, again and again. The flashback material with Gale coming apart under the strains of abandonment and disillusionment, and his relationship with the sharp, quiet Constance is full of warmth and a visceral, complex connection that Spacey and Linney make us believe in completely. Spacey also does beautifully with Gale's fear, resignation and a violent, consuming rage that makes us think he might after all be capable of physical harm. Randolph also comes up with some really snappy dialogue for Gale, Constance, their circle and even Gale's lawyer.

Furthermore, shots of Constance's final moments are made all the more disturbing by their no-frills, just-the-facts approach; the scenes are so plausibly realistic that they verge on being hard for us to watch.

On the other hand, most of the investigative story with Bitsey is contrived in both substance and style, starting with the fact that it's hard to buy a female reporter, struggling to be taken seriously, who'd let herself be called by such an uncool (and literally diminishing) nickname. Bitsey's whole ego-driven attitude and lines are so clichéd that even Winslet's hard work can't make her credible.

Oddest of all, though, is the film's ultimate impact, but this is one of those situations where exploring the difference between apparent intentions and final results would be to give much of the game away. Suffice to say that THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE is a film that encourages much post-viewing discussion that's guaranteed to be animated whether or not it's approving.

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