|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
'David Gale' cast on life and death
By Meriah Doty
(CNN) -- Death issues seem to run rampant in a film that bears the word "life" in its title. "The Life of David Gale," about a death penalty opponent who finds himself on Texas' death row, opens nationwide on Friday. Given the re-emergence of debate over capital punishment, its timing is impeccable. Illinois' outgoing Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of all the state's death row inmates last month. The Netherlands and Belgium have decriminalized euthanasia. And on Tuesday, Mexican President Vicente Fox condemned the results of a vote in overwhelming support of the death penalty. Though capital punishment and euthanasia -- both politically charged issues -- are addressed in the film, the stars of "Gale" say there is no political agenda. "I didn't do this movie because I thought it was going to be pro or con or took a stand and sort of cram down people's throats one point of view," Kevin Spacey, who plays David Gale, explains. Director Alan Parker, known for directing 1988's "Mississippi Burning," agrees. "It isn't a black-and-white matter, in regards to the issue," he told the Sacramento Bee recently. "And this film was not meant to be a political diatribe. Hopefully it's balanced, for people to make up their own minds." "It's not a movie about the death penalty," says costar Laura Linney, "It's a murder mystery in the context of many political issues, the main one of course being the death penalty." UnpredictableThe film also stars Kate Winslet as reporter Bitsey Bloom, assigned to interview Gale on death row just days before his scheduled execution. Gale has been convicted of raping and killing his longtime friend and fellow death penalty opponent Constance, played by Linney, and offers his side of the story to Bloom. Linney only appears onscreen in a series of flashback scenes where the story unfolds into unpredictable plot twists and turns.
The actress says she was easily drawn to her character. "She's a very intellectual person; she's someone who is led by her brain," Linney says. "But her emotional life is so deep and mysterious that I found that combination really interesting." Was it a challenge to portray Constance? "No," she says. "It's what I do. It was difficult in that she's such an important element to the story -- it has to be balanced in the appropriate way." To prepare for her role she says "I do a lot of internal, quiet work that percolates and then hopefully will flow when I'm actually on set." She adds, "I'm not the sort of person that will walk around the set all day long in character. I don't think I could exist in that circumstance." Linney, who admits she is against the death penalty, adds, "having to prepare for this movie confirmed my belief. ... I now have a stronger sense of why I feel the way I do as opposed to just an emotional sort of reaction to it." 'Gale' force
But the film didn't have that impact on all its stars. "Surrounding the [death penalty] issue is a lot of controversy and very passionate views. People tend to be on one side very strongly or the other side very strongly, and I actually don't end up on either side," Spacey says. He says arguments against capital punishment make a lot of sense, but, "On the other hand, I've never had a family member murdered. I don't know what I would feel like if it became that personal." The film "certainly raises many issues and I think many different people could take many different sides," Linney says. Spacey just hopes the film "makes people think ... and have a healthy debate and an open debate, rather than being so fiercely on one side or the other." CNN's David Matthews contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
