Gale less than powerful

By Jonathan Pechon
Editor

Spacey movie needs shot in the arm

Very few things are like the thriller gone right. The feeling is almost euphoric when you get to the end of the movie, when the culprit is unmasked, when the final twist is revealed, when the magic and mystery are pushed aside and you are left with only the truth.
And when that doesn’t work, well…

The Life of David Gale begins as journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) gets the opportunity to interview Dr. David Gale (Kevin Spacey), an inmate on death row just days from his execution. Over the course of three interviews, he describes the tragedy of his last free years, building up to the crime he is accused of: the rape and murder of fellow anti-death-penalty activist Constance Hallaway (Laura Linney).

Eventually the story becomes a mystery as clues lead Bitsey through twists and turns towards the truth. She and her intern-sidekick, Zack (Gabriel Mann), eventually work feverishly to attempt to save the life of Gale as the hour of his execution draws near.

Spacey makes the character of Gale easy to relate to and easy to feel pity toward. His persona definitely lends itself to the character of Gale, with his intellect and stoicism alternating with displays of raw emotion. Laura Linney does a pleasing job as Constance, and lends strength to the character that would have been painfully lacking, otherwise.

There are many issues to be taken with much of the rest of the cast, though. The intern Zack just doesn’t do an effective job of counteracting Bitsey’s attempts to appear as a hard-nosed journalist. Winslet gives center-stage to Spacey, but her character seems to devolve over the course of the film in a truly disappointing manner.

Many of the other characters simply fall into their roles and let the stereotypes play themselves. The stereotypes, however, seem either obvious or overdone. The image of all Texans as out-for-blood supporters of the death penalty is as unjust as the radical depiction of activists against it.

A bigger issue is actually in the actual presentation of the story itself. A compromise was struck between conveying the moral issue (the death penalty) and making an effectively thrilling story. The end result may leave viewers skeptical as to what to take from the movie, and in my case end up without enough of either.

I wanted the story to be either a high-minded moral story or a thriller; instead, I ended up with something in between those. While entertaining, it left me a little disappointed.

The Life of David Gale opened in wide release on Feb. 21