Rating: 
Summary: Fake and unsatisfying
Review: An innocent man is executed for the murder he did not commit. The crucial evidence for his innocence arrives five minutes after he is put to death. And everybody suffers: the victim, the man, and the viewers. Bad movie from an acclaimed director. Makes an excellent gift to the governor of Texas.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it!
Review: I don't need to tell you what THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE is about, there are plenty of other reviews that do just that. I would, however, like to explain to people why they should see this movie.
I should first start by saying that I am for the death penalty, even after seeing this movie. But, for me the thing that was most compelling was that someone would actually let themselves die when self-clearing evidence exists. It makes sense that Kevin Spacey is a professor of philosophy in this movie, for, this movie is at times very philosophical. It is intriguing to me that with the growing number of suicide bombers and martyrs in the world, that this movie did not gain more attention based on the American ideal that life is too precious to die for. But does that mean that if life is sooo precious in the U.S. that we should abolish the death penalty? I don't know. That is a question to ponder. On the lighter side, I found it kinda cheesy that Kevin Spacey plays a modern day martyr. But his acting is superb, and I don't normally care for his work. My review is a bit scattered I know, but I hope that you will take into consideration the quality of the movie and not the quality of my review. As I mentioned earlier, I am for the death penalty, but, this movie expanded my horizons and allowed me to "see the other side." It did not change my opinion, however it did make me think, which is why I believe that Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet took their roles. I intend to purchase this DVD and show it to all my friends so that they too can be shown the "other side." And I think you should too!
Rating:
Summary: STATE SPONSORED SUICIDE...
Review: This is a terrific film, as are so many of the films in which Kevin Spacey stars. This film is about death penalty opponent fanatic, David Gayle (Kevin Spacey), whose life careens out of control once he has an unfortunate sexual interlude with a provocative student from the college in which he is a professor. Having lost his teaching career and family over the incident and seeing his high profile role in the politics of death penalty issues consequently disappear, he ends up accused of the rape and horrific murder of Constance Harraway (Laura Linney). Constance was David's fellow death penalty opponent fanatic and best friend, the one who stood by him through thick and thin and helped him try to regain control of his life. Tried and convicted for her rape and murder, David is ironically now an inmate on death row. He grants an ambitious reporter, Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet), an interview just days before his execution. As his story unfolds, revealed in a series of flashbacks leading to the final denouement, Bitsey begins to believe that David might be innocent. She begins to investigate and put together the pieces of the enigma that is David Gayle. Kevin Spacey is terrific in the role of David Gayle, a man who went from being on top of the world to being at the bottom of the heap. He is a man who has lost all that he holds most dear, including a relationship with his beloved young son, all because of a mistake in judgment that caused him to take the wrong fork in the road of life. It is the story of a man whose life has spiraled downward, and who has given in to despair. He uses his ideological commitment as succor, ultimately seeking absolution in martyrdom. Laura Linney is excellent as David's devoted friend and fellow activist, who sticks by him through thick and thin. She infuses the role with a certain firmness of character and quiet dedication. Hers is an activism born of measured conviction in contrast to David's more flamboyant, confrontational stance on the issue for which they share a passion. Her own personal waterloo provides the film with some lovely bittersweet moments. Kate Winslet handles her role as the intrepid reporter with great aplomb, providing the role with a nice contemporary feel and infusing the character with a respectable American accent. Despite all this, however, she takes a back seat to Spacey and Linney in the film. Matt Craven is perfectly cast as the mysterious Dusty Wright, the cowboy whose dedication to the anti-death penalty cause goes above and beyond the call of duty. This is not, however, a film about the death penalty. Consequently, as a death penalty issues film, it fails, as the film paints both sides of this hot button issue in an unflattering light. It is, therefore, not a propaganda film and those looking for such will, inevitably, be disappointed. As a whodunit, however, it succeeds brilliantly, as the plot is complex and filled with enough twists and turns and red herrings to delight even the most jaded mystery aficionado. This is a film that focuses on an unhappy man, who has lost all that he holds dear, and a decision that he makes about what to do with his life. Right or wrong, it is that decision that fuels the film and makes for some gripping cinematic moments. This film now completes a magnificent triad of films about troubled men for gifted director Alan Parker (Angel Heart, Midnight Express). This is a film that one can certainly watch again and again due to its complexity. My twenty one year old daughter has watched it three times now and claims that it is one of her all-time favorite films. I myself would certainly watch it again and intend to add it to my personal collection. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Die David Gale, Die
Review: I don't understand pure liberal thinking and I probably never will. I also don't understand why and how academics get away with sounding so silly sometimes. But most importantly I don't understand why a film like THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE could get made. A film so patronizing it was designed to do one thing. What is that do you ask: to act as a sounding board for the liberal agenda? Or maybe just to discredit them? Hmm...maybe it was made to make right wingers look like evil jackasses? Whatever the answer, whomever the audience it fails on every level. Capital punishment is huge hot button topic. It's one that will be debated for a long time. DAVID GALE is specifically designed to play to those who agree with the mantra that capital punishment is wrong. I disagree with this notion so the film didn't at all play to me at all. THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE follows an intrepid reporter named Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet, Holy Smoke) whom has been given the opportunity to interview death row inmate David Gale (Kevin Spacey, The Shipping News). Gale is a local college philosophy professor who was convicted of murdering his colleague, Constance Harraway (Lauren Linny, Maze). They both worked for an anti-death penalty group called Deathwatch. By all accounts Gale is innocent of all charges, but why is he on death row? As the story unfolds you begin to understand why and if by the end of the film you still have faith in the other side, you better watch out. DAVID GALE made me want to become a death row guard just so jackasses like him don't exist. But that's the end of the movie, I'll get to that later. DAVID GALE is missing one crucial element, humanity. The story while shot nicely, with vibrant colors and beautiful framing is preachy to say the least and at worst patronizing. From the very first moment the film has an agenda which is more important than the character's in the film. For the most part David Gale doesn't talk like a human being but like a political manifesto. Instead of having meaningful conversation, he more or less speaks in intellectual quips. Kevin Spacey is a good actor, but when he's not directed well enough his hidden intensity can become dulled. This performance very much mirrors his performance in `PAY IT FORWARD' while adequate it walks that thin line between great and dull and for the most part it comes out being the latter. Bitsey Bloom is the exact opposite of this, for her realization comes not because she wants it to happen, but because the screenplay calls her to be hard edged until near the end when she fights to get at the truth. It's a shame because Winslet gives a great performance. (As a side note I almost wished they had let her use her own accent, because in this film it seemed like her American accents was holding her back.) Director Alan Parker (Pink Floyd: The Wall) is one of my favorites, cause even if his films fail at least there compelling. But this film is so flat and so fake, I will chalk it up to a bad decision he made. It's at this moment that I would like to thank first time screenwriter Charles Randolph (The Interpreter) for finally offering to me the definition of the word "schmuck". That was one of those words everybody assumed I knew what it meant and now I know and boy it's not as bad as I thought it was. As for his screenplay on a whole, it sucks. It's a first draft at best, why Universal decided to put it's money behind this clunker of a script is beyond me. It has so many flaws; the worst offenders are scenes that just don't belong. A red Herring moment with a shower just included for jumps, a scene in which Gale has a conversation with his son that is so unbelievably bad it should have been rewritten. Another big problem I had with this movie is if you work for a big name news magazine why would the send a top notch reporter out with an intern, wouldn't they send a publicist or someone who know their way around a story? Hmm... I don't know. It kind of bugged me, But the worst scene is the very last. I won't ruin it for you but I will say this: Do the ends ever justify the means? For David Gale they absolutely do not. Plus to movie for some reason thinks it's necessary to be funny at moments when it shouldn't. Yes there are jokes in this film, not one of which works. If the film had been a satire, this film just may have worked. But alas, THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE is a drama, and a poor one at that. The makers of THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE should all sit down and watch Alfred Hitchcock's ROPE, I felt like Jimmy Stewart's character as the end of the movie began to unfold. Is David Gale a hero? In my book no, he's like a pro-life protester that kills an abortion doctor, he hasn't helped his cause, and he's destroyed it. This film is a waste of some powerful potential. THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE is one that's not worth living.
Rating:
Summary: Pitifull tripe
Review: Why either of these actors (Spacey and Winslett) got involved in this silly and insincere film is beyond me. Sure, if you put aside the subject matter, it could be deemed an entertaining, over the top, predictable, plodding, badly scripted thriller. However, to disregard the seriousness and worthiness of the subject matter here in such a crass way made me retch.
Yes, there's a twist at the end (as is the norm nowadays for films striving to be 'clever') but you will have sussed it out well before it happens.
Rating: 
Summary: An engaging thriller
Review: The Life of David Gale was slammed by critics for being a sanctimonious preachfest. I prefer to view the movie as a mystery/thriller with the death penalty views as a background for its plot. Seen as thus, this is a mostly satisfying thriller, packed with just the right amount of twists and turns, red herrings, and intriguing characters to entertain for its two-hour running time. Kate Winslet (look prettier than ever) star as Bitsey Bloom, a journalist who is on task to interview David Gale (Kevin Spacey) before he is to be executed in three days. He was a former professor sentenced for the rape and murder of Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), who along with Gale, were close friends and advocates against the death penalty. As Gale unfolds the tale of the last few months of his life before the murder, she slowly begins to believe he might actually be innocent and that the real killer could be very well out there, watching her every move. As I said before, The Life of David Gale is a very entertaining thriller. Seen as just that, a thriller, it does have its flaws, some of it pertaining to Winslet. Her performance is actually quite good, it's that, as is the case with a lot of movies in this genre, the "detectives" are usually the least well-developed characters, simply because they're there to gather the facts and piece the clues together. The only things we know about her is that she's determined and very tenacious. Both Spacey and Linney are excellent, convincing in their portrayals of normal individuals who suffer plenty of heartbreak in their lives, with the latter eventually losing hers in a brutal manner. Spacey, during the interview scenes, exudes an aura of mystery and quiet uneasiness, basically the same style of acting he's relied on almost his entire career. Still, he's good at it, but one wonders when he'll really break out into something completely different. The film runs smoothly for most of its running time, and the movie's first big twist, revealed with about a half-hour left, caught me off-guard, in a good way. It's the final scene that irks me. That last shot should have been omitted from the film, as it negates the purpose of much of what went on the previous two hours and might even make you lose complete respect for one of its major characters. Director Alan Parker obviously meant for this shot to chill us, and while it will probably to that effect initially, you're going to feel cheated once the credits have rolled.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: This movie was perhaps the biggest disappointment of last year. It could have been the riveting, shocking drama that was promised. Instead, it quickly beomes hokey, second-rate, easily predicatble tripe that is so obsessed with its own attempts at being clever that a decent script was forgotten somewhere. It wants desperately to be smart and shocking, but it is anything but. Anyone paying any bit of attention can guess the ending within the first half an hour. (Every one of the five people I watched it with did.) The only areas where this movie succeeds is in making all death penalty abolitionists look like a bunch of nutbags, and all women look like either devious and conniving jezebels or helpless and clueless morons who need a man to guide them every step of the way. Anyone against the death penalty or with feminist leanings will be offended, as will anyone who knows a good movie when they see it.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, interesting situation
Review: David Gale (Kevin Spacey), a college professor and activist against capital punishment, finds himself in jail, on death row with three days to live. At this time and no time previously, he finally wants to talk to reporters and will only grant an interview to a single reporter he asks for by name: Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet).
Bitsey Bloom is a reporter that has two points of recommendation, she religiously guards her sources and has spent jail time doing this. She has also recorded the stories of some very unpopular criminals. She is curious which part of her reputation has attracted the soon-to-be-executed David Gale. In her 3 days of 2 hour interviews, she hears David Gale's story and finds he is accused of killing a beloved collegue. Not only does this seem highly unlikely, but his trial and details of his defense seem botched on several counts. Convinced she can obtain a stay of execution she goes about the 3 days prior to his impending execution to try to prove his innocence. However, there are details that don't quite mesh from a cowboy that follows her everywhere, to a local display of the murder site, to David Gale's own words of the relationship he and the murder victim had. it seems all so peculiar. No sense of motivation seems possible, except for the previous sexual assault David Gale had the charges dropped from, by a former student. As Bitsy Bloom works in a frenzy to exonerate the charged David Gale, the clock ticks to his death. It is just so bizarre that a previous death row activist would end up in this position. As usual with Kevin Spacey his acting is understated and superb. Kate Winslet is great as the hard bitten reporter and only once does she truly act out of character (you will see what I mean) but this does not ruin the story. Laura Linney as Constance Harraway, the murdered collegue is particularly excellent as well.
Rating:
Summary: Great expectations, poor realizations
Review: I will not bore you with the plot of the movie. If you want that read somewhere else. This movie had potential. Unfortunately the interesting idea is destroyed by poor acting(Kate Winslet), poor casting(Kate Winslet among others), poor directing, poor cinematography(movie has made for video feel), a poor screenplay. Kevin Spacey aside, his performance is up to expectation. He is only average by the standard you expect from him. Maybe in 40 years or so this movie will be remade and it will do the "idea" justice.
Rating:
Summary: Kate Winslet Nude and I'd Give It 5 Stars.
Review: I love most all of what Kevin Spacey does, as well as this one. But, let's be honest guys: when you saw the R rating on the back of the case for nudity and sexuality, weren't you just praying it was Kate Winslet in her full glory, like she was in the movie, Jude, and the other one where she plays a girl seduced by a cult, dressed up in bedsheets, the name of this one is slipping my mind big time right now, but not the full frontal nude scene she did! Hey, don't bash me, fellow female reviewers: she can act. I think she's a great actress, but the rest of the package is quite nice also. Onto the movie at hand ... You're going to think exactly this after the 1st hour of this movie: "This is going nowhere, it's slow, maybe I'll turn it off and watch one of the Lord of The Rings movies for the 100th time, I'd rather see Gollum." DON'T DO IT! This movie is a fooler, and the last hour and 11 minutes builds up to an ending that will blow you away. Hard to say much more than that, or I'll give a lot of it away here. One actress which you will get to see a lot of, who plays Berlin in the movie, I hope to see in MANY more scenes like the one you'll be watching over and over, trying to figure out how Kevin Spacey gets paid for doint that! The greatest job on the earth. Seriously, this ending will leave you putting all the little pieces together long after the credits roll. If you love movies which make you really think afterwards, then get this one now. 4 STAR RATING FROM SCRAGGY'S TOMB OF DVD's, USA.
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