Rating: 
Summary: A disaster of a movie.
Review: I can't understand how could a group of such talented actors agree to make such a ridiculous and badly written film. And it is certainly Alan Parker worse work.
The whole thing is a mess, the dialogue, the tone, the pacing. The twists of the story are really laughable and way too impossible to happen in real life.
This movie tries very hard in trying to make a point, but is disguised as a thriller and nothing here really works and I am gonna stop writing about this film because it doesn't deserve my time.
AVOID!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Concept Movie
Review: What this film attempted to illustrate was that a white person without a credible defence or a lot of money to save themselves could be hanged by circumstantial evidence within an environment that executes people - sorry to all you rednecks that think this film is a waste of time - but then again why am I apologising to people (!?!) who wouldn't even watch the film on general principles. People say that this film is a waste of time because it manipulates the events to cause the execution to occur - not a very good system if it is this easily tricked - or perhaps the system cannot be bothered to find the truth !!
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie
Review: This movie, to me, is one of the best if not the best movie released in 2003. Great coming back of Kate!!! You must see this movie. Don't miss out on it. It's worth the while.Enjoy, Ilja
Rating:
Summary: Innocent Until Proven Guilty?
Review: Are we truly innocent until proven guilty or does circumstantial evidence contribute heavily to the verdict? Are there innocent men and women on death row? These questions are part of the underlying messages found in The Life of David Gale, which is a disturbing movie about the politically charged subject of capital punishment. Directed by Alan Parker and released by Universal Studios in 2003, Kevin Spacey is cast in the leading role of David Gale, who is a philosophy professor at the University of Texas in Austin and an outspoken critic of the death penalty. As a member of a political activist group called Deathwatch, which is a non-profit organization seeking to abolish the death penalty, Gale gained notoriety as political hothead in a state that traditionally supports capital punishment as a crime deterrent. The irony of this film is that one of the state's leading death row abolitionists, Gale, is now on death row for the brutal rape and murder of his Deathwatch colleague, Constance Hallaway (Laura Linney). The film begins as Gale's attorney requests Bitsey Bloom, a New York investigative reporter who is played by Kate Winslet, for three exclusive two-hour interviews with Gale before he is put to death by lethal injection. In these two-hour sessions, Gale relives the events that led to his downfall and asserts his innocence in a series of flashbacks. Alcoholism contributed to a sexual indiscretion with a college student, which led to the breakup of his marriage and the loss of his position at the university. Bloom has three days to uncover the truth surrounding Hallaway's death and to free Gale from his impending doom. The use of foreshadowing in this suspense thriller is rampant and sometimes overdone, such as the problems with Bloom's car or the mysterious cowboy that constantly follows her as she and her sidekick, intern Zack Stemmons (Gabriel Mann), try to discern the truth about the death of Gale's colleague. In one flashback, Gale is in a heated debate over capital punishment with the governor of Texas. The governor proclaims he would readily place a moratorium on all capital punishment if Gale could provide him the name of one innocent man or woman that has been erroneously put to death. Of course, Gale could not. But, this is a critical scene that is linked to a surprise ending with a twist. I enjoyed this movie, which runs for 131 minutes. But, it is definitely not for everyone. One must be prepared for the liberal stance that is taken on the issue of capital punishment and they must also be able to tolerate nudity, violence and obscenities.
Rating:
Summary: Keep you on the edge of your couch
Review: This movie kept us on the edge of the couch. Excellent suspense movie. The way the story was told kept you guessing what really happened, who did what and why. Forget about death penalty or not, it's just a movie, just enjoy a good story. They don't come easy these days.
Rating:
Summary: On my list of the worst movies I've ever seen
Review: I like complex films but this was too much, too implausible, too ridiculous to be beleived. Worst of all this film was, at times, just plain sickening to watch. It took an especially twisted Hollyweird mind to come up with this garbage. Hey, no surprise.
Rating:
Summary: What were they thinking?
Review: Death penalty opponent David Gale (Kevin Spacey), himself imprisoned on Death Row for the murder of a fellow activist (Laura Linney), tells his story to a newspaper reporter (Kate Winslet) supposedly so that she can clear his name. This well-made film with its excellent cast starts out well but soon becomes implausible and silly. It may appear to be anti-death penalty propaganda, but the illogical surprise resolution of the story reveals it to be completely ambivalent. While masquerading as a serious film, it is actually an overwritten mystery with a dunderhead plot that portrays those on both sides of the issues as fools or worse--gun-toting good ol' boys on one side and dishonest crazies on the other. If it doesn't offend you regarding your position on the death penalty, it should offend you as a lover of good movies.
Rating:
Summary: A Suprising Thriller
Review: I thought this movie's topic was quite interesting, however at times i thought the acting was a bit stupid though the acting was overall good, though hasn't Kevin Spacey played the same role too many times. David Gale(Kevin Spacey) plays as a death row convict with only 4 days to go until he is executed. David Gale agrees to spend 2 hours a day talking with reporter Bitsy Bloom(Kate Winslet) who is there to find out if he really did rape and murder his Death Watch partner Constance(Laura Linney). Bitsy is very sure David is innocent and she sets off seeking for proof that he did not rape while her cohortn intern reporter Zack(Gabriel Mann) pieces together the clues. I thought the movie was great, the acting was overall well done. Kevin Spacey acted well as a man a ready to be executed and during the flashbacks of before he was convivted he acts well as a sad, depressed man who had just lost his wife, son and job as a philosophy teacher. The only time i thought his acting was silly was the scene were he is stumbling on streets talking to people about philosphy and trying to act drunk which he couldn't do, otherwise his acting was good. I thought Kate Winslets acting as a reporter was silly seeming,she tried to have a good american accent, however failed and she always kept the same facial expression, apart from that her acting was fine or maybe a bit below fine. The topic of the story was interesting, it was on capital punishment a very interesting topic for a film and i really like the twist at the end which raised my rating of 3 stars to 4 stars. The main thing that bothered me about this film is that it was a bit depressing, like i mean it would be pretty depressing to live a life like Kevin Spacey in the film and i found the scene were Kate Winslet and Gabriel Mann watch the tape pretty depressing, and i though it was a bit pointless how before the key flashbacks there would be quick cuts to words on paper in chalk boards(RAPE, REPUTATION, ACCUSATION, MURDER) and then the camera would spin. Pretty annoying bit of editing eh. All in all, excellent topic, good acting, good story, excellent message.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre writing with some great acting...
Review: Upon its release earlier this year, The Life of David Gale was slammed by critics as a preachy anti-death penalty drama with Kevin Spacey trying desperately to turn himself into a weepy martyr. Is it true? Well, yes. The script is mediocre and seems like a hipster sunday school lesson, subplots (like the people who follow Kate Winslet around, etc.) seem overwrought and distracting to the film, and the twist at the end makes the protagonists look crazy. So why a 3 star rating? Well, Laura Linney does a great job as an anti-death penalty crusader who is close to the title character and even though Spacey has had a run of movies where he plays "the good guy/martyr" he does a convincing job as an alcoholic professor bent on doing something good with his wasted life. However, I'm getting tired of the "good" Spacey, give me the back-stabbing sly bad guy that I've known and loved! Anyway, you might want to rent this on a dollar movie night and see how great actors can try to rescue so-so movies.
Rating: 
Summary: you'll probably feel cheated, and maybe insulted
Review: This would have been a boring propaganda film except for some frenzied camera work and many clues and events designed SOLELY to keep you from turning off the propaganda. In fact, the whole plot line with the "journalist racing against time to find out the truth" is nothing more than a red herring to keep you watching. Surprisingly, the putative "real" theme (propaganda against the death penalty), is ALSO a red herring. Therefore, most people will feel cheated after being deceived by this movie. The real theme that permeates every minute of this movie is that there are two types of people in this world, and the death penalty is merely a litmus test to distinguish them. People who oppose the death penalty are intelligent, educated, and caring people who know how to have fun, and those who disagree (Republicans) are stupid mean racists. Examples of the people the movie targets are Texans, George Bush, people with southern accents, and even people who wear cowboy hats and drive pickup trucks. Therefore, many people will be insulted by this movie. If you want to see this film because it opposes the death penalty, you may still feel cheated and insulted because it contains nothing you will find new, thought provoking, or an example of how to be persuasive. However, the movie IS persuasive. It is masterful in its consistent but subtle demonization of Republicans, Southerners, etc.
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