The Life of David Gale (2003)

A respected professor at the University of Austin, David (Kevin Spacey) is busy trying to maintain his profession obligations and deal with his failing marriage, also participating in DeathWatch, a capital punishment advocacy group run by pal Constance (Laura Linney). Lured into a bathroom tryst with ex-student Berlin (Rhona Mitra), David is framed for rape, but his future darkens completely when Constance is murdered, with evidence tying him to the crime. On death row awaiting execution. David sells his story to journalist Bitsey (Kate Winslet), a tough-as-nails writer who's granted three opportunities to interview the alleged monster, working to separate fact from fiction as David walks through his nightmare. Facing a brief timetable to put the puzzle pieces together, Bitsey is caught up in David's saga, trying to locate evidence of his innocence before it's too late.

"The Life of David Gale" is absolutely determined to avoid the gray areas of capital punishment, imagining its lead character (classified by others as a "flaming liberal") as an intelligent man with a defined view on the subject, even challenging the governor to a televised debate, only to be outwitted when questioned about mistakes in the system pertaining to possible innocence. He's a lively intellectual and a confident abolitionist, but he has his weaknesses too, exposing him to temptations and misjudgments that destroy his life. The screenplay (credited to Charles Randolph) uses Bitsey's dogged journalistic instincts to probe his life at the bottom, with the general arc of his downfall communicated in three flashback sequences introduced with swirly camerawork and flashes of charged words that tease his true nature. As much as "The Life of David Gale" is a thriller about a reporter (and her intern, played by Gabriel Mann) reexamining the facts of a strange case, the writing is mostly interested in the details of David's corruption, exploring his eventual slide into alcoholism and ostracism.

There's something to "The Life of David Gale" that's worth examining, including the topic of innocence and death row, with special emphasis on Texas and their high execution numbers. Yet, the screenplay only covers outrage, never asking direct questions to feed a mystery that ends the movie on a baffling note. Parker wants to make a thriller, tracking Bitsey and her energetic drive to pore through clues, visit the crime scene (the house owner is played by Melissa McCarthy), and outwit lawyers and administrators. As David recounts his misery, Bitsey is sucked into questions of possible innocence, trailed by mysterious types pushing her to plunge deeper into behavior and political position. "The Life of David Gale" isn't played calmly, with performances and scoring cranked all the way up to secure intended emotions, treating the viewer as a moron incapable of understanding the urgency of the plot. Melodrama chokes the life out of the effort, making it easy to ignore all the alarms Parker sets off in connection with David's possible innocence.

As strange as "The Life of David Gale" is, nothing tops character names in terms of a straight-up oddity. Bitsey? Constance? Berlin? And there's a cowboy named Dusty in the mix as well. It's difficult to tell if the material was meant for the big screen or perhaps it was originally envisioned for the Golden Horseshoe Revue at Disneyland.