Susan Granger’s review of “The Life of David Gale” (Universal Pictures)
How strongly you feel – pro or con – about the death penalty could determine whether or not you choose to see director/producer Alan Parker’s thriller based on this inflammatory issue. As the story opens, you meet David Gale (Kevin Spacey), a philosophy professor and political agitator who is on Death Row in Austin, Texas. Ironically, before his arrest for killing Constance Harraway (Laura Linney), a colleague with whom he was working to abolish the death penalty, they were both activists and protesters. Enter Elizabeth “Bitsey” Bloom (Kate Winslet), a hot-shot investigative reporter from New York who wants to know who, what, when and why – which is what the subsequent flashbacks reveal. After that, it becomes a quest for the truth about Constance’s murder and a rather predictable race to beat the deadline for Gale’s execution. Unlike “Dead Man Walking” about the redemption of the soul of a guilty prisoner facing the death penalty, first-time screenwriter Charles Randolph uses the death penalty as a device to raise the stakes on this somewhat confusing crime-and-punishment saga, adding a ticking clock to build tension. And if you haven’t figured it out beforehand, picking up the myriad of clues, there’s a stunning revelation at the conclusion. Unfortunately, crusading Alan Parker (“Angela’s Ashes,” “Evita,” “Mississippi Burning”) permits this to become self-important and his sons’ (composers Alex and Jake Parker) music is increasingly overwrought. Credit droll Kevin Spacey (“K-PAX”) and determined Kate Winslet, but it’s Laura Linney who delivers the most memorable performance. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Life of David Gale” is a suspenseful 7, a controversial story built on an intriguing, if unconvincing, premise.
