The Life of David Gale
| The Life of David Gale | |
| Directed by | |
| Produced by | Alan Parker |
| Written by | Charles Randolph |
| Starring | Kevin Spacey |
| Music by | Alex and Jake Parker |
| Cinematography | |
| Editing by | |
| Distributed by | |
| Release date(s) | February 21, 2003 |
| Running time | 130 min. |
| Country | |
| Language | |
| Budget | $50,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $38,955,598 |
The Life of David Gale (2003) is an American drama film directed by Alan Parker and written by Charles Randolph.
Kevin Spacey stars as the titular character, a college professor and active opponent of capital punishment who is accused of raping a student and later convicted of killing a friend who was also a capital punishment opponent. Kate Winslet and Laura Linney co-star.
[edit] Plot
David Gale (Spacey) is head of the philosophy department at the (fictional) University of Austin, an author, and active member of Deathwatch, an anti-capital punishment activist group. Gale loses a televised debate with the governor when he is unable to point to an example of a demonstrably innocent man being executed.
At a graduation party, an inebriated David is seduced by Berlin, an attractive female graduate student who had previously tried to entice him into raising her failing grade, and had later been expelled from the school. During the party, Berlin succeeds in getting Gale to have sex with her. After the party, she falsely accuses Gale of rape. Berlin drops the charges and flees, but the negative publicity costs Gale his career and marriage.
Constance Harraway (Linney), a fellow Deathwatch activist, is a close friend, especially after Gale's wife leaves with their son to Spain. The custody laws there favor the mother and her father is the American ambassador, effectively shutting Gale out of his child's life.
Harraway is found raped and murdered, and physical evidence points to Gale. Gale is charged with her murder and convicted.
Gale awaits execution. He agrees, for a substantial fee, to tell his story to Bitsey Bloom (Winslet), a journalist from a major news magazine. It becomes clear to Bloom that the details simply do not add up. Dusty Wright (Craven) is the alleged one-time lover and full-time Deathwatch activist partner of Harraway. Wright slips evidence to Bloom that suggests Gale has been framed, leaving Bloom only days to save Gale from execution.
An implication that the murderer videotaped the handiwork is replaced by the revelation that Harraway "recorded herself" committing suicide, since she was suffering from terminal leukemia. The video isn't found until moments before Gale's scheduled execution.
In a frenzy, Bloom tries to present the evidence to stop the execution. Unfortunately, she doesn't reach the courthouse in time and Gale dies an innocent man. The tape is released after his death, resulting in a media and political uproar over the execution of an innocent.
In an epilogue, Dusty delivers the interview fee from the magazine to Gale's wife in Spain, along with a postcard from Berlin apologizing for the false rape accusation. His ex-wife looks distraught, knowing Gale told the truth and that she effectively stole their child away from him.
A differently edited videotape is delivered to Bloom much later, labeled "Off the Record." This one shows Dusty confirming Harraway's death after her suicide and then stepping aside to allow Gale, also present, to caress her one last time. It is in this way Gale leaves his print on Harraway's plastic bag. Bitsey realizes that she has been manipulated by Gale and his associates, and that Gale, Harraway and Wright conspired to frame Gale in order to show that the death penalty can result in the execution of innocents. The film ends leaving questions as to whether or not Gale expected to be pardoned at the last moment, or if Wright deliberately prevented this.
[edit] Cast
- Kevin Spacey as David Gale
- Kate Winslet as Bitsey Bloom
- Rhona Mitra as Berlin
- Laura Linney as Constance Harraway
- Gabriel Mann as Zack Stemmons
- Matt Craven as Dusty Wright
- Jim Beaver as Duke Grover
- Leon Rippy as Braxton Belyeu
[edit] Critical reception
Reviews were generally negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie had a 20% rating based on 152 reviews. On Metacritic, the movie had a score of 31 (Generally negative reviews) out of 100.[1]
Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert gave it zero stars, his lowest rating, and stated, "I am sure the filmmakers believe their film is against the death penalty. I believe it supports it and hopes to discredit the opponents of the penalty as unprincipled fraudsters...." Wrote Ebert, "Spacey and Parker are honorable men....The last shot made me want to throw something at the screen—maybe Spacey and Parker."[2]
[edit] Filming locations
- Huntsville, Texas
- Sam Houston State University
- The University of Texas at Austin, Garrison Hall
- Metro Espresso Bar (now Cafe Medici), 2222 Guadalupe St, Austin, TX
- Cain and Abel's Bar, Austin, TX
- Gumbo's Louisiana Style Cafe
[edit] Soundtrack
Most recently, the soundtrack (composed by Alex and Jake Parker) has been used in various film trailers, specifically the track "The Life of David Gale". The score has been used in the trailers for World Trade Center, Munich, In the Valley of Elah, and most recently, Milk.
[edit] See also
- The Man Who Dared, a John Sturges film with a similar plot
[edit] References
- ^ Critic compiler website Metacritic rated the film 31 out of 100, indicating "generally negative reviews." See Metacritic entry. Rotten Tomatoes gave it only a 20% "fresh" (positive) rating; only 15% among those the site identified as "Top Critics." See Rotten Tomatoes entry.
- ^ Reviews: The Life Of David Gale By Roger Ebert. February 21, 2003 (0 stars)
[edit] External links
|
| Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Life of David Gale |
- Official website
- The Life of David Gale at the Internet Movie Database
- The Life of David Gale at Allmovie
- The Life of David Gale at Box Office Mojo
- The Life of David Gale at Rotten Tomatoes
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_David_Gale"
Categories: 2003 films | 2000s thriller films | 2000s drama films | American drama films | English-language films | Mystery films | Crime drama films | Films directed by Alan Parker | Films set in Texas | Films shot anamorphically | Films shot in Barcelona | Films with a capital punishment theme | Universal Pictures films
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