|
Review by Harvey Karten
3 stars out of 4
How do you feel about the death penalty for those convicted of
murder? Are you in favor because the Bible says "An eye for an
eye," or because you believe potential killers will be deterred or
because you think the families of the victims would gain closure?
Are you against the death penalty because you believe the state
should not lower itself to the level of murderers, or because you
think innocent people may die or because you believe life without
parole is a more effective punishment? None of the above? In any
case, though Charles Randolph, who scripted "The Life of David
Gale," makes his position known over and over, hammering his
views into the minds of the audience at every which turn, you
probably would not be offended by the film if you were pro-death
penalty. Why so? Two words: Kevin Spacey among the most
exciting actors of our time. But he is not the only plus for London-
born Alan Parker's latest effort. Parker, whose early career as an
ad executive may well have influenced the ways he made sure
that all of us watching the big screen would know Randolph's
position on the death penalty, converts what could have been
merely a diatribe into a dramatic work. "Gale" is glitzy, yes, but
carrying a final twist that could knock your socks off. You won't
see it coming unless some creep throws you a spoiler when you
couldn't turn your eyes away from a tell-all review on the 'net.
Parker, whose "Mississippi Burning" recreates the civil rights
struggle of the 1960's, is right at home in this politically liberal
film, making points against then Governor George W. Bush by
casting a sound-alike (Michael Crabtree) as the doctrinaire right-
wing leader of Texas, the state with the most executions in its
history and with some four hundred people on death row as
testament to the idea that they sure as heck had not been
deterred.
Kevin Spacey is cast in the title role as a professor so brilliant
he just might have come from an advanced civilization like K-Pax.
Delivering a lecture to a hundred or so students, none of whom
would dream of looking at their watches, he discusses the way
that fantasies are great until they are realized: that bit of irony just
might have something to do with the movie's conclusion. Framed
for the rape of a college student who "would do anything to pass
this course," he is eased out of his position on campus and is
later charged with the rape-murder of Constance Harraway (Laura
Linney), a fellow member of an organization fighting the death
penalty. Is he guilty? Three courts seem to think so and so does
crackerjack journalist Bitsey Bloom (who must have had father
named Irving and a mother called Heather), until...until... Together
with a newspaper intern, Zack Stemmons (comically played by
Gabriel Mann), she like her counterpart Clint Eastwood in "True
Crime" is going to prove his innocence with minutes to go before
the needle goes in, of course.
There are some actions that challenge credibility, such as the
delivery of half a million dollars in cash by a newspaper in return
for the granting of an interview with the condemned man. We
wonder why Zach is trusted with a metal attache case containing
the cash rather than with a certified check. But that's within the
conventions of a thriller, even one that has a political axe to grind.
There is also a flaw in the debate that Gale has with Governor
Hardin, in which the state's chief executive appears to stump the
death penalty opponent before the TV camera with a point that
Gale should have seen coming. Laura Linney is the only
performer who can match Spacey in her performance as a
vigorous death penalty opponent, and though Kate Winslet is no
slouch, Spacey can do no wrong. The eyes of Texas may not like
the message or at least 66% of those fry-'em-up eyes but even
our president might be entertained by a picture whose 130
minutes go by in a breeze.
Copyright © 2003 Harvey Karten
|
