|
Talk about having your expectations slashed. I never felt a letdown
more profoundly than Alan Parker's The Life of David Gale. This, from
one of my favorite directors, responsible for such monumental works as
Midnight Express, and socially significant and poignant films like
Citizen Ruth. It's not that the film was awful, it's more the sinking
feeling that an A+ honor student just got sloppy.
The movie's plot centers around a philosophy professor and outspoken
anti-capital punishment activist, David Gale (played by Kevin Spacey),
who's been convicted of murder and sent to death row. Four days before
his execution, he grants a three-day interview with a reporter, Bitsey
Bloom (played by Kate Winslet) in an attempt to prove his innocence. The
bulk of the movie is Gale's story to Bloom detailing events leading up
to the present moment.
The film is billed as a thriller, and with a top-notch marquee of
name-brand actors, and some moderately suspenseful moments, the film
does have its fair share of entertainment value. However, the film never
really rises above three pivotal problems.
First, the "thriller" genre of the film is really a thinly veiled attempt
to wrap a story around an otherwise overtly slanted political statement
against the death penalty. Not that there's anything wrong with using
cinema to express an ideology, but it becomes beneath the quality of a
director to do so simplistically, and at the expense of his own craft. For
Parker, this is surprising.
To be specific, the "thriller" aspect of the film is weak, because so
much obvious material is conspicuously withheld, that it becomes somewhat
predictable. What's more, people's actions and behaviors are so clearly
suspicious, that you can't help but see through their motivations. For
example, it is implied that Gale made no effort to defend himself of his
crime during a trial that we neither saw nor have reference to, and he
seems to care little about the execution that awaits him days away. So,
why does he wait till the last minute before finally deciding to claim
his innocence and have his story told? Clearly, it's impossible to get
a reprieve from the execution at this point, so why now? Also, as an
outspoken activist for the anti-capital punishment cause, it's curious
that he refused to talk to the press until now. Both these facts are so
out of character for Gale, that someone should have noticed. If that's
not enough, everyone associated with Gale, including his lawyer and the
entire "death watch" organization, seem to be curiously silent on his
imminent execution - a behavior that's uncharacteristic of a group that
deems the death penalty as should never, ever be implemented on anyone,
regardless of their guilt or innocence. Suspicions over the motivations
of Gale and the others rise over the top when we aren't even presented
with much more than a ghost of an "adversary" that would be out to
frame Gale. Anyone connecting the dots - or just paying attention -
can figure out what's going on, but my mentioning more at this point
would give away the movie. Suffice to say, the end is hardly a surprise,
if not downright predictable.
Ok, ok.. so the thriller part is weak. Then, what about the philosophical
arguments for and against the death penalty, which clearly is a very
obvious agenda of the film? Unfortunately, this is where the film is
even weaker - it presents arguments so naively and sophomorically,
regurgitating statistics and simple-minded populist rhetoric we've been
hearing for years. The film doesn't even mention DNA testing or how there
has already been a big shift in public opinion on the subject in the
past couple of years. Even on a philosophical level, it doesn't really
address the true complexity of the issue. By preaching to the converted,
you wonder, who is the audience for this film?
As a counter-example for a film about the death penalty, Tim Robbins'
Dead Man Walking, artfully walks right down the center of the road,
presenting coherent arguments both for and against the death penalty
with insight and sensitivity. The film's effectiveness is accomplished
by showing the equally devastating effects thrust upon people through
intimate views of their lives in very realistic situations. It didn't
need to preach. David Gayle doesn't let the audience draw their
own conclusions like Dead Man Walking did - instead, it spoon feeds
exactly what Parker wants you to think, simplistic, though it may be. The
difference of the approaches of these two films is so pronounced, that,
of all directors, Parker should have known better.
Oddly enough, he has done better. In Citizen Ruth, Parker articulated
both sides of the abortion argument with equality and poignant
observations, and even did so with biting satire. He not only showed how
people progress their agenda, but how they often do so at expense of the
people they aim to help. For those in emotionally churning political
battles, sometimes winning isn't even enough; the other side has to
lose and lose badly. Nowhere in David Gale do we see such authentic
depiction of those involved in the heat of emotionally-charged infighting,
even though it's the same director.
If any of that weren't enough, what finally brought the film down is
the apathetic relationships between the characters, the most important
of which being between Bloom, the reporter, and Gale. Since Bloom was
to be the messenger of Gale's agenda, you'd think Parker would have had
the two engage more intimately on some level to give her motivation to
help him. What's more, we as audience members symbolically put ourselves
in her role - if Gale can convince her of his cause, we are convinced
too. Alas, this relationship never takes hold. It even appeared that her
motivation to solve the "mystery" was born more out of the fact that she
could solve it, than out of her sympathy for Gale or his cause. Compare
this with the superb depiction of the relationship Jodie Foster and
Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs.
While it's probably the case that The Life of David Gale will appeal
to mass audiences who will overlook the simplistic political statements,
and be attracted to the "suspense/thriller" genre, I would prefer to
put it to sleep quickly... but quietly and humanely, of course.
|
|
