David Gale is on death row for murdering and raping his colleague at a Texas University where he had been a professor. He has never allowed an interview and never talked to anybody about the crime. He had been the states leading figure in trying to abolish the death penalty claiming it was immoral and wrong. Constance Harraway whom he is accused of murdering was also an activist to do away with the death penalty. Four days before he is to be executed his lawyer calls a New York magazine and agrees to an interview with Pulitzer-hungry reporter Bitsey Bloom. Bitsey is known in the business as hard cased reported and even recently spent time in jail for not releasing her sources for a child pornography ring. When she arrives she is certain that David is guilty and she is only there to get the only interview he has ever allowed. But as he begins to unravel his story of what happened to him Bitsey begins to have doubts if he really us guilty. David is supposedly a genius and the crime was too messy and uncalculated. Also as he himself puts it doesn’t she find it odd that someone who so strongly opposed the death penalty is on death row himself. Bitsey begins to suspect foul play and maybe a conspiracy against David. But she cannot puzzle out why anyone would conspire against him and she is running out of time. David has brought her to prove his innocence and Bitsey is bound to uncover if it is true before he is executed.

The main story and plot line of this movie has been done many times before. A man about to be executed for a crime he claims he did not commit gets a reporter to come to jail and to try and free him. But what makes this movie so good and different then all its predecessors is all the twists and turns it makes in this over used story line. Some of the surprises just grab you and make you absolutely enthralled in the story. And to not be outdone by its out ingenious story lines is its ending. The movie ends in such a way that you may find yourself sitting through the credits going wow as I did. The acting is superb as Kevin Spacey makes you feel for his character, as you can’t wait to see if Kate Winslet can free him and if he is truly innocent. And Kate herself does a magnificent job as the reporter that now finds her in a unique situation as she begins to believe in Gale’s innocence and has no way to set him free and must hope for some help. The movies let down is that the ending did leave some unanswered questions that will just get your mind sparking to want to know the answers. It left me bitter a little to not have those answers but at the same time it left me awe struck that they had the tenacity to the end the movie the way they did. The movie does not pull any punches and does not make any apologies for being so harsh and abrupt at times. In fact the movie could be almost obscene at times as they covered such myriad story lines of life, love, sex and death. I would highly recommend this movie as it is quite the enthralling drama but you to may find yourself a little unsatisfied in the end.
3.5 stars out of 5