Though a fan of all involved (Spacey, Winslet, Laura Linney, dir Alan Parker), I found "...David Gale" to be a fatally-flawed and misconcieved project that will do nothing to enhance anyones career.
****SOME SPOILERS TO FOLLOW; I'LL TRY TO BE CAREFUL*****
The volatility that rages over the issue of death-sentencing is screaming out for a serious examination of the issues involved. "...David Gale" merely uses it as a backdrop to a convoluted and increasingly silly storyline that twists and turns itself into nothingness. Without wanting to give anything away, the film is a pro-euthanasia fantasy disguised as a right-to-life drama. I can see some commentators may respond to Alan Parker's final reel message, calling it a sly and ironic, even daring, move by the acclaimed director. For me, it came across as a slap-in-the-face con trick that abandoned the last already-strained vestiges of reality and subtlety the film had going for it. Kate Winslet comes off particularly poorly in this film. For much of the plot, she is reduced to reaction shots, until late in the film when, finally called upon to emote and provide character depth, she pulls out all the stops in a gasping, wheezing display of over-the-top haminess. Pains me to write it, 'cos I've loved everything she's done, but she suffers at the hands of a weak, bloated script and a director in career decline. Alan Parker's direction is, in equal measure, pedestrian and desperate. He uses a very annoying camera / editing technique to depict a flashback - the device reeks of a last-minute decision by the producer to win back audience attention. Parker expertly handled the issue of racism within a narrative context in "Mississippi Burning", a classic which is light years away from "...David Gale". I guess surprisingly, you can't place too much blame at the feet of Kevin Spacey, who plays Gale as an idealistic but flawed family man. His problem is the shifting, uncertain tones that screenwriter Charles Randolph gives his character - we meet Gale as a hardened crim, yet the film then portrays him, in quick succession, as proffessor, drunk, philanderer and pained father, none of which are explored enough to create audience empathy. "Dead Man Walking" and "Monsters Ball" both handled a similar storyline with far more class and resonance. "The Life Of David Gale" betrays its characters and alienates its audience in the process.
****SOME SPOILERS TO FOLLOW; I'LL TRY TO BE CAREFUL*****
The volatility that rages over the issue of death-sentencing is screaming out for a serious examination of the issues involved. "...David Gale" merely uses it as a backdrop to a convoluted and increasingly silly storyline that twists and turns itself into nothingness. Without wanting to give anything away, the film is a pro-euthanasia fantasy disguised as a right-to-life drama. I can see some commentators may respond to Alan Parker's final reel message, calling it a sly and ironic, even daring, move by the acclaimed director. For me, it came across as a slap-in-the-face con trick that abandoned the last already-strained vestiges of reality and subtlety the film had going for it. Kate Winslet comes off particularly poorly in this film. For much of the plot, she is reduced to reaction shots, until late in the film when, finally called upon to emote and provide character depth, she pulls out all the stops in a gasping, wheezing display of over-the-top haminess. Pains me to write it, 'cos I've loved everything she's done, but she suffers at the hands of a weak, bloated script and a director in career decline. Alan Parker's direction is, in equal measure, pedestrian and desperate. He uses a very annoying camera / editing technique to depict a flashback - the device reeks of a last-minute decision by the producer to win back audience attention. Parker expertly handled the issue of racism within a narrative context in "Mississippi Burning", a classic which is light years away from "...David Gale". I guess surprisingly, you can't place too much blame at the feet of Kevin Spacey, who plays Gale as an idealistic but flawed family man. His problem is the shifting, uncertain tones that screenwriter Charles Randolph gives his character - we meet Gale as a hardened crim, yet the film then portrays him, in quick succession, as proffessor, drunk, philanderer and pained father, none of which are explored enough to create audience empathy. "Dead Man Walking" and "Monsters Ball" both handled a similar storyline with far more class and resonance. "The Life Of David Gale" betrays its characters and alienates its audience in the process.