Release Date:
Friday, February 21, 2003
David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is a good man who just happened to drink like a fish and hook up with students at the university where he lectured. But a man deserving of a death sentence? No. Well, maybe. Let’s bring in hard-nosed reporter Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet)—who breaks for no one, mind you—to find out.
The Life of David Gale isn’t all that bad, but it’s riddled with distractions—for one, a cowboy hat simply isn’t going to cut it as your lone piece of material evidence when trying to collar a suspect in Texas. Further, the movie abruptly loses perspective, turning Winslet’s character into a Brockovichian crusader. (Why do so many movies mistake “sexually bereft beyotch” for “strong female lead”?) Finally, it’s hard to maintain credibility when three separate endings are tacked onto the finale—each one completely undoing what the previous had just set up. Gale is mildly entertaining, but all of the twists and turns that comprise the last quarter of the flick send it dangerously close to made-for-TV territory.
The Life of David Gale isn’t all that bad, but it’s riddled with distractions—for one, a cowboy hat simply isn’t going to cut it as your lone piece of material evidence when trying to collar a suspect in Texas. Further, the movie abruptly loses perspective, turning Winslet’s character into a Brockovichian crusader. (Why do so many movies mistake “sexually bereft beyotch” for “strong female lead”?) Finally, it’s hard to maintain credibility when three separate endings are tacked onto the finale—each one completely undoing what the previous had just set up. Gale is mildly entertaining, but all of the twists and turns that comprise the last quarter of the flick send it dangerously close to made-for-TV territory.