Rhona mitra life of david gale

One thing director Alan Parker has never been accused of is understatement. Kevin Spacey has also fallen prey to sentimental exaggeration in his recent films K-Pax and Pay It Forward , although it must be said that his performance as the character of David Gale is more measured and "human" than in his last few works. Their performances are always interesting to watch, even if their actions are not. Oh, the irony!

Billed as a taut suspense thriller, but really a liberal message movie in disguise , "The Life of David Gale" is the kind of hard-hitting drama that always attracts Hollywood stars. Hardly surprising then, that the role of David Gale - an anti-capital punishment campaigner who's accused of murder and sent to death row - was rumoured to have caught the attention of George Clooney and Nicolas Cage. In the end though, it was Kevin Spacey who nabbed the title role - a wise move on director Alan Parker's part, since Spacey has exactly the right amount of understated earnestness to make this death row drama effective. Accused of murdering a friend and fellow activist Laura Linney , Gale has just a few days to prove his innocence before he's sent for some short, sharp, shock treatment in the big chair. Approaching fearsome journalist Bitsey Bloom Kate Winslet , Gale convinces her to investigate the murder and his gradual fall from grace after becoming an adulterous alcoholic. It's a tough job, and time isn't on her side.

The camera shows dirt. Clumpy, dark. Far off in the distance, a little red car huffs and puffs its way along a road. Smoke appears from the engine, the car dies. She grabs something from within the vehicle then starts running.

The film is an international co-production , between the United States , Germany and the United Kingdom. Kevin Spacey played the eponymous character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent. Kate Winslet and Laura Linney co-star.