The Life of David Gale (2003) on Netflix
David Gale, a University of Texas philosophy professor and death penalty opponent, is on death row for the murder of a fellow activist. Journalist Bitsey Bloom arrives for his final interview.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.5/10133,427 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes19%
Trailer
Plot summary
David Gale heads the philosophy department at the University of Austin and campaigns against capital punishment with a group called DeathWatch. Berlin, a graduate student expelled from the school, accuses him of rape; the charge is dropped when she disappears, but the damage costs him his marriage and his career. As his drinking takes hold, fellow activist Constance Harraway consoles him. She is found murdered, and the case against Gale sends him to death row. Days before his execution, the network sends journalist Bitsey Bloom to Texas with her intern to record his account. Gale says he is innocent, and Bloom begins looking into the case between their meetings.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Life of David Gale (2003)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Filipino senator and former national police chief Ping Lacson said watching the film on Netflix changed his mind on capital punishment, leading him to withdraw his own bill proposing the death penalty for heinous crimes.
- Critic Roger Ebert gave the film a rare zero-star review, arguing that although star Kevin Spacey and director Alan Parker likely intended it as an anti-death-penalty statement, the movie actually undercuts death-penalty opponents by making them look dishonest.
- Actress Laura Linney has said the scene in which her character is handcuffed naked in a kitchen was one of the roughest scenes she has ever had to film.
- The Life of David Gale was director Alan Parker's last film before he retired from filmmaking; he died in 2020.
