Reviewed by Ian Maher

The Life of David Gale
Director: Alan Parker (2002)
Distributor: United International Pictures (UK) Ltd.  Certificate: 15

Set in present day Texas, David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is a convicted murderer, four days away from his execution. A former high-flying college professor and leading light in an anti-capital punishment group called Death Watch, Gale negotiates a series of three two-hour interviews with a newspaper for $500,000.

Journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet), accompanied by intern Zack Stemmons (Gabriel Mann), travel to the Texas death row prison and through the interviews with Gale and flashback sequences from his life, the story unfolds. Some years previously Gale had been maliciously accused of rape following drunken sex with a student from his college. Though cleared of the charge it resulted in Gale’s troubled marriage falling apart (he already suspected his wife of having an affair), the loss of his job, and a slide into alcoholism.

Having hit rock bottom, Gale’s friendship with fellow campaigner Constance Harraway (Laura Linney) results in him sleeping with her. The next day, Gale is arrested and charged with the rape and murder of Constance, who was found naked and asphyxiated. Despite the seemingly overwhelming forensic evidence, Gale still contests his innocence to Bitsey, and also tells her that Constance had leukaemia.

At first sceptical, Bitsey discovers a video tape left in her motel room that shows Constance in her death throes. The suspicion arises for Bitsey that Constance may have committed suicide, though Gale’s lawyer Braxton Belyeu (Leon Rippy) feels there is insufficient evidence to delay the execution.

Having been tailed by a mysterious stranger who Bitsey and Zack identify as Dusty Wright (Matt Craven), another Death Watch employee, they suspect him as being responsible for the tape and also in possession of a longer version. Zack arranges a decoy to allow Bitsey to search Dusty’s house and she finds the tape. It appears to show Dusty as the person responsible for Constance’s death. Despite frantic attempts to halt the execution, Bitsey arrives at the death house too late. The film draws to a close with Dusty delivering the interview fee to Gale’s ex-wife in Spain and the conclusion seems to be that Gale was the victim of a wrongful execution.

Having revealed the first twist, I will leave it to you to discover final one for yourself ~ and it is quite a twist! The Life of David Gale has received mixed reviews but personally I found it to be a good film that was enthralling and well worth a watch.

THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH 

Some key themes: Capital punishment

Despite the fact that there is a far from neat ending to the film, The Life of David Gale brings to the fore the issue of capital punishment. The fundamental question can be summarised as follows: Is it morally justifiable for the state to take the life of a convicted killer? Some of the arguments in favour include:

·    deterrence ~ the fear of such severe punishment will reduce a person’s readines to kill another human being (there is very little evidence to support this claim);

·     economics ~ execution is cheaper than life imprisonment at the taxpayers’ expense (actually an unsustainable argument in the light of facts about the cost incurred through appeals procedures);

·     justice ~ if a person kills someone else then s/he should pay with their own life.

One particular Biblical text is often used in relation to the third point. It is Deuteronomy 19.21: ‘Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot’ (New International Version). In fact in the film the pro-death penalty governor of Texas uses this very text (which seems to be a favourite for governors and former governors of Texas!) to support the policy of state execution. It is, however, an abuse of a text that is about limiting vengeance. In context it was about imposing a boundary around how one tribe should respond to a wrong committed against it by another tribe. In other words, if one person were killed it would be an inappropriate response for a whole family or tribe to be wiped out in retaliation. Far from promoting like-for-like punishment, Deuteronomy 19.21 was about ensuring that out of proportion acts of vengeance did not take place.

Some of the arguments against capital punishment include:

·       premeditated killing, whether by an individual or a state, is always wrong;

·       execution prevents any miscarriages of justice from being addressed.

In the New Testament, Jesus’ makes a somewhat different point than do the pro-death penalty campaigners. He says this: ‘You have heard that it was said “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth”. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also . . . You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour and hate your enemy”. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons and daughters of your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5.38-43). Such a passage does not remove the need for justice in relation to a crime but the emphasis of the like-for-like, tit-for-tat, approach of the capital punishment lobby is difficult to sustain in the light of Jesus’ teaching.

In relation to the second point, recent years have seen a steady stream of wrongful convictions emerging in the British legal system. There is no reason to suppose that similar mistakes do not occur in death penalty nations. Issues also abound concerning the adequate legal representation of marginalized ethnic and social groups.

Against the cool, collected arguments on both sides of the capital punishment debate, is set our emotional response ~ and that presents an extra dimension. For example, the gut-level response of many people to the horrific murder of the little girls Holly and Jessica last year would be to string up the person(s) responsible. It might be less strong in relation to a man who kills another man in a brawl. The implication is that some murders are more deserving of the death penalty. So what do you think?

Have your say on the discussion forum....

·      Should murderers be put do death?

·      If only some murderers be put to death, which ones and why?

·      In the light of the final twist in The Life of David Gale ~ assuming you are a pro-death penalty person ~ was it a rightful execution?

To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.