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	The Life Of David Gale
	Alan Parker Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Gabriel Mann, Rhona Mitra, Matt Craven, Leon Rippy 2003		As volatile topics go, capital punishment remains a hotter-than-hot-button issue, and the suspenseful, well-acted "message" movie "The Life of David Gale" throws gasoline on the fire. Kevin Spacey plays Texas college professor David Gale, a loyal father to his young son and a vocal opponent of the state's death penalty. But Gale's life is shattered when he's convicted of raping and murdering his colleague Constance Harraway (Laura Linney). Gale is on death row, days from execution, when he agrees to speak with Bitsey Bloom, investigative journalist for a national news magazine. Gale wants to set the record straight. He asks Bloom to hear him out and implies his innocence. Bloom, played with a decent American accent by comely Kate Winslet, begins to question Gale's guilt. Motivations get fuzzy, and there are a few too-convenient plot devices. Two-thirds of the way through, you may figure out the circumstances of Constance's death and make an educated guess about Gale's culpability. Despite all that, director Alan Parker ("The Commitments," "Shoot the Moon," "Birdy," etc.) and the actors maintain this pertinent film's dramatic thrust.