Review of The Life of David Gale (2003) by Lewis C — 17 Sep 2010

"They destroy his life, his work, his memory...and they make him watch.".

The Life of David Gale tried very hard to be a thought-provoking movie that raises questions and encourages dialogue about a very important and divisive issue. Instead, it ended up being a preachy train wreck that's likely to bore you no matter what side (if any) you find yourself on in regard to the issue of the death penalty.

There are two plot twist that instantly transformed this from a somewhat watchable mediocre movie (watchable because I'm such a fan of Spacey, Winslet, and Linney) to an absolute train wreck. They're so contrived and absurd that they completey derail the entire film (twice!). Someone should have locked writer Charles Randolph in his house and not let him out until he had replaced the awful second half of The Life of David Gale with something that didn't border on lunacy.

Skip this. Whether you're for or against capital punishment won't change the fact that this is a bad movie.