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Life of David Gale, The
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MPAA Rating: R
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Entertainment: +2
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Content: -3
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In this dramatic thriller, David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is a professor at Austin University and an anti-death-penalty activist. Gale is seduced by an attractive drunk student (Rhona Mitra) who later screams rape. The charges, although dropped, cost Gale his teaching job. After losing his wife (Elizabeth Gast) to another lover, she files for divorce and moves away with their only child. Gale turns to alcohol and his close friend and fellow activist Constance (Laura Linney). A few years later, Constance is found raped and murdered, and Gale is convicted of the crime. A week before he is to receive his deadly injection, Gale and his attorney, Baxter Belyeu (Leon Rippy), send for well-known reporter Bitzey Bloom (Kate Winslet) to write a story to clear his name. A few days before his scheduled death, Bitzey and her bumbling assistant Zack (Gabriel Mann) uncover evidence that suggests Gale has been framed, leading to a series of plot twists.
The Life of David Gale, an entertaining film with decent performances by Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey and Oscar-nominee Kate Winslet, explores the issue of capital punishment. It is unfortunately loaded with bad language, sexual content and nudity. The crime scene a nude woman, with breasts and buttocks revealed, is handcuffed with a plastic bag over her head is videotaped and shown in autopsy photos. In another scene, a man has sex in a bathroom with one of his students, whose buttocks and bra are shown. Cleavage is shown a few times in the film. A couple is shown in bed having sex and talking sexually. After a woman tells a man she needs to have more sex, he talks her into having it with him. The film also shows frequent use of alcohol and tobacco. Preview cannot recommend The Life of David Gale due to the many objectionable elements.
Preview Reviewer: Lynn Nusser
Distributor: Universal Pictures
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Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.
Crude Language: mild once (hell), moderate few (2) times (butt, tits), strong once (smart-ass).
Obscene Language: moderate once (pissed), strong many (29) times (F-word 16, S-word 10, words used for genitalia 3, middle finger gesture 1).
Profanity: mild few (4) times (OMG, thank G), moderate few (2) times (G, CS), strong many (11) times (J, JC, GD).
Violence: mild once (mob scene over death penalty has pushing and yelling), moderate once (man takes his anger out on pay phone), strong few times (video tape shown of handcuffed woman with plastic bag over her head as she is dying, woman stabs herself in an opera performance).
Sex: man and woman having sex in bathroom, man and woman having sex in bed
Nudity: many times (naked woman shown in video, womans bra and buttocks shown in sexual encounter in bathroom, cleavage is shown in some scenes, naked woman in autopsy photos).
Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: man and woman discussing sexual partners, student propositioning teacher to get a passing grade, discussion of mans wife who is having an affair, lesbian joke told at party, expressions used to describe genitals and self-gratification.
Drugs: moderate many times (cigarette smoking and alcohol use, man turns to alcohol because his life is such a mess).
Other: none
Running Time: 130 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults
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