The Life Of David Gale  

Review: written 2004

Worth watching, but uneven in tone

This was a film of two intentions - a thriller, and a message movie. It is a worthy intention to put the message into some context as a thriller to make it palatable; it makes the medicine easier to swallow. However the film is beset by a problem of balance .. Where the thriller slacks off, the message seems too in your face, and where the thriller takes off it seems too shallow for want of the message. Alan Parker handled the balance so much better in Mississippi Burning, that if you came to this expecting the same standard you would be very disappointed.

However, the cast do adequately, and Spacey and Linney do brilliantly, adding the depth that makes the film engrossing enough to enjoy watching.

Those who are expecting the film to hold its own as a thriller may well be disappointed.