The Life of David Gale (2003)

The crime is clear. The truth is not.

Director: Alan Parker, Rated R for violent images, language, nudity

Film ClipStarring: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Gabriel Mann, Rhona Mitra, Leon Rippy, Matt Craven, Jim Beaver, Melissa McCarthy

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You work so hard not to be seen as a sex object. Before long, you're not seen at all." - Constance Harraway

Why watch this? This fantastic mystery is fun to watch unravel.

Plot Summary: A passionate philosophy professor and vocal anti-death penalty activist finds himself on Texas' death row for the brutal rape and murder of a fellow campaigner. With only a few days left before his scheduled execution, he hires an investigative journalist to hear his story. As she races against the clock to uncover the truth, she uncovers a web of secrets and shocking revelations that challenge her understanding of the entire case.

  Dad's Preview: There are two things that propel this film above others of its kind. First, the film's intelligent screenplay, with its multiple twists, points viewers to a place we want it to go, but it gets to a place we did not expect. That's good writing. Second, its cast is exceptional. Regardless of what you think about Kevin Spacey personally, he so good at playing those roles where he never quite shows his hand - is he a good guy or bad? Winslet and Linney are likewise excellent and I admire both actresses immensly. This film divided critics. I think the nay-sayers put too much focus on what this film was trying to politically say about the death penalty. To me, that's just a part of the plot, and it doesn't sway me one way or the other.  


Intermedia Films, Saturn Films, Dirty
Hands; Universal Pictures
 
  Genres: Crime-Thriller, Crime-Drama, Drama-Legal, Drama-Political, Drama-Psychological, Drama-Tragic, Thriller-Legal, Thriller-Mystery, Thriller-Political, Thriller-Psychological
Dad's Genres: SNL-Alumni, Texas-Tales
 

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