This is not a new movie and this should be relatively obvious seeing as how the now disgraced Kevin Spacey is the star of it. I managed to not see this movie when it was released because of the name of it. This is the same reason why I skipped Being John Malkovich and it isn't that I don't like films with names in them, it's just for some reason these didn't resonate with me and I totally skipped this one. Apparently I wasn't the only one because after you factor in presumed marketing costs this film lost money at the box office and seeing as how it was 2003, DVD sales probably didn't help that number very much.
Because I made a promise a while back that I will watch any new film that Netflix features where the trailer doesn't look terrible, I watched this last night and I have to say, I was not disappointed.
The movie's plot is not a new one in it's overall sense where we have Professor David Gale (Spacey) who is on death row and will be executed in just a week's time. He has arranged for a series of interviews with a trusted reporter who has a reputation of protecting her sources to the point of her own conviction in a court of law. She has the stupid name of "Bitsy" but she is played by one of my favorite actresses, Kate Winslet.
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By the way, I lifted that image from an absolutely wonderful website called https://assholeswatchingmovies.com/ and if you ever feel like killing some time and having a laugh at some really clever people and their take on films, spend a few minutes supporting them.
Back to the film:
The movie relies heavily on flashbacks and not so much on the actual dialogue that is taking place between "Bitsy" (gawd I hate that choice of name) and David. Therefore, Kate Winslet isn't actually in a great deal of the film but her limited involvement as an investigative reporter is essential to the overall story.
Professor Gale was a highly respected member of the academic community and a major activist opposed to the death penalty. He divides his time between being an educator and author, and working with a group called "DeathWatch" that is opposed to the death penalty, regardless of the guilt of the person being executed.
They bring about some good points in the film such as the death penalty having almost zero effect on murder rates and I thought this might be fiction until I looked it up and found out that it is actually true. I never knew these things so that aspect of the film was interesting even though the entire plot is a total work of fiction (IE: David Gale is not a real person.)
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One thing that kind of surprised me was the presence of a then, relatively unknown, Melissa McCarthy in a bit role of a gothed out lady who lives in the "death house" where the murder that David Gale was meant to have committed took place. I guess Melissa was still looking for her niche before she discovered that comedy is where she belongs. She nails her serious role even though she is not in a great deal of the movie.
The action keeps coming pretty quickly and while it isn't a "gotcha" ending quite like The Usual Suspects or anything crazy like that, it does come together in a way that I don't think that most people could have seen coming. There is a bit of foreshadowing that takes place early on in the film where we see Bitsy running down the street after her car breaks down in the start of the film and none of this makes any sense until the last 10 minutes of the movie.
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In an ironic twist of real-life fate, Dr. Gale's reputation is destroyed because of rape accusations that were placed against him but were later dropped and it was determined he was innocent. His ability to work in any sort of professional capacity in his career was destroyed from his point forward. I don't know of Kevin Spacey is actually guilty of which he has been accused (IRL) or not, but that sort of real life accidental foreshadowing about how once you are accused of rape you are already guilty in the eyes of the public - whether or not these accusations are actually true become irrelevant.
I am paraphrasing because I don't recall the exact quote but when that line hits in the film it is a "ooooff" moment knowing what we know about Spacey's actual life now.
Should I watch it?
I have been intentionally vague about the details of this film because I think that if I were to be any more specific I would give away important plot points that would definitely spoil the movie and I hate it when people do that. Just know that there is a real sense of action in this movie and even though it jumps back and forth in time in the story-telling it is very easy to follow. As a viewer you are torn with how you feel about just about every character in the film at may different junctures. When you get to the end, the entire experience is haunting and will stick with you well after you have finished watching it.
I'm not really one to take to crime drama films and normally avoid them if I can because it isn't a genre I generally enjoy. I am normally a harsh critic of those sorts of films yet here I am, praising this one.
Based on the lack of blockbuster performance of this film at the box office, I think there is a very good chance that you haven't seen this film yet and I highly suggest that you change that as soon as possible.
