David Gale (Kevin Spacey) plays a university professor and anti-capital punishment campaigner who finds himself on death row. A journalist improbably called Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) is sent to meet him and conduct his final interviews. Through their conversations, she begins to unravel what really happened in the crime he is accused of. We see those events unfold in flashback.
It’s a tense and exciting story that’s slightly spoiled by the last five minutes, which offers one unlikely twist too many. As soon as you start asking questions about the plot logic, it collapses.
Spacey and Winslet are both excellent, as is Laura Linney as Gale’s friend and colleague.
The film makes some good points about the evils of capital punishment, although you can’t help thinking that those points would be stronger still without the final twist. A simpler, more believable plot would have worked so much better.
No comments:
Post a Comment