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Plot Summary
David
Gale (Kevin Spacey) a former Philosophy Professor and anti-death penalty
activist finds himself on death row accused of the brutal rape and murder
of a colleague. A few days
before his execution he contacts a reporter, Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet)
and offers to tell his side of the story.
Bitsey and her intern assistant, Zack (Gabriel Mann) travel to
Texas to interview Gale. As
his story unfolds Bitsey begins to question whether he really did commit
the crime and her suspicions are raised when they find themselves being
followed…
Review
This thriller has been getting some very poor
reviews. It seems that it was
felt that the important issue of Capital Punishment was handled
insensitively and that the movie trivialises this contentious issue and
perhaps even ridicules those who would lobby against the death penalty.
Handled differently the film could have provided some
food-for-thought on a contentious issue but in this regard the film gives
little insight. Perhaps
because this isn’t a burning issue in Ireland this inadequacy didn’t
affect me greatly and I was watching this movie at a basic entertainment
level.
On a basic level of “thriller movie
entertainment” the story is interesting enough and even intriguing at
times. This is helped by a
number of flash backs as David Gale tells his story and the change of
location and time makes for interesting viewing.
Although it has to be said that a number of flaws must be
overlooked when neither the story nor the characters quite “ring true”!
Acting in general is nothing special.
It is difficult to empathise with Kevin Spacey’s character, David
Gale, as he often comes across smug and arrogant.
Kate Winslet’s character also seems lacking and she doesn’t
come across as a hard-nosed reporter as Gale leads her along with his
story. In fact, I found
myself indifferent to the faith of the characters in the end.
The Bottom Line:
A flawed thriller that could have been much more.
However, if you can overlook the flaws it makes for interesting
viewing.
Reviewed by Niall Quinn.
Premier Movie Reviews 2003
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