The Life of David Gale (2003)

A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

Director:

Alan Parker

Writer:

Charles Randolph

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Winslet	...	Bitsey Bloom
Cleo King	...	Barbara Kreuster
Constance Jones	...	Reporter A.J. Roberts
Kevin Spacey	...	David Gale
Laura Linney	...	Constance Harraway
Lee Ritchey	...	Joe Mullarkey
Gabriel Mann	...	Zack Stemmons
Matt Craven	...	Dusty Wright
Brandy Little	...	Motel Waitress
Cindy Waite	...	Margie
Jim Beaver	...	Duke Grover
Leon Rippy	...	Braxton Belyeu
Jesse De Luna	...	Supervising Guard
Vernon Grote	...	Door Guard
Rhona Mitra	...	Berlin

Storyline

When anti-death-penalty activist David Gale is convicted and condemned to death for the murder of a colleague, reporter Bitsey Bloom sets out to learn the story behind Gale's crime. What she finds challenges her belief in Gale's guilt and, finally, in the justice system.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | death | activist | death row | texas | 

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Taglines:

The crime is clear. The truth is not.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent images, nudity, language and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA Germany UK Spain

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

21 February 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Leben des David Gale

Filming Locations:

Austin Studios - 1901 E. 51st Street, Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,117,225, 23 February 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$19,593,740, 30 March 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,971,092, 6 November 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Intermedia Films, Dirty Hands Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Gale is drunk in downtown Austin (6th street) was somewhat improvised and shot with two lights and a camera. "Most of those people aren't extras," Alan Parker said to an audience at the University of Washington.

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Goofs

After Gale puts his son to bed he feeds his fish. Before he feeds them you can see food floating down from a previous take.

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Quotes

David Gale: [while drunk] Socrates was ugly, Plato was fat, and, um, and Aristotle was a prissy dresser!

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Connections

Referenced in Cult Legends and Rising Stars: Cult Legends: Joe Estevez (2013)

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Soundtracks

Sand
(1966)
Written by Lee Hazlewood
Performed by Einstürzende Neubauten
Courtesy of Thirsty Ear Recordings / Some Bizarre, Ltd.

User Reviews

Very Underrated

Directed by the legendary Sir Alan Parker, this is the story of David Gale, a University of Texas professor of philosophy against capital punishment who is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

Kevin Spacey and Laura Linney deliver great performances in the flashbacks. This movie is by far one of Spacey's strongest performances, he is always very subtle and insightful portraying David Gale. Laura Linney really makes a name for herself in this motion picture, she's as consistently complex and likable here as she is in "Primal Fear" and "You Can Count on Me". Kate Winslet, however, has problems in carefully crafting her character. She's called upon to cry about four or five times in this film and each time she does so, the action unfortunately rings more and more false. Other than that, she is average. Meanwhile, Gabriel Mann, Leon Rippy and Matt Craven also provide colorful backdrops to the story at hand with their credible supporting characters.

"The Life of David Gale" is a film that had a great opportunity to create controversy about the death penalty. Unfortunately, it is excessively underrated by critics, despite being nominated for the Human Rights Award from the Political Film Society and being present at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.

Sad and stunning. 8/10