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InvisibleSclorch
Clyster

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"The Life of David Gale"
    #1314629 - 02/17/03 02:50 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Just got back from the sneak preview... GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!


DON'T SCROLL DOWN IF YOU DON'T WANT AN INKLING OF WHAT THE MOVIE IS ABOUT!
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This thread definitely belongs here rather than the political forum.... so leave it.


It's an updated version of the ol' cup o'hemlock. :wink:
I fucking loved it.  I thought I knew what was going to happen... and then they threw in more twists than a pretzel.  Real nice.  Eloquent.

The saddest part of seeing this movie was walking out and hearing people vocalize their skewed perception of what the movie was about.  Instantly, the Myth of the Cave came to mind.  It's really too bad that it's not possible to force people to take the red pill... but then life would be easy, right?

I'll wait to talk about the various moral issues until some of you see the movie.
*prays to the God of uncertainty that all SPS shroomerites will stumble into theaters to see the movie* 


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Note: In desperate need of a cure...

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InvisibleZero7a1
Leaving YourWasteland

Registered: 10/23/02
Posts: 3,594
Loc: Passing Cloud
Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1314636 - 02/17/03 02:53 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

i saw the preview for this and thought it was a movie i should go see. there have been so many shitty movies lately, and after working at the movie theatre ive just been like FUCK that. but my interests have just be heightened, maybe i will reply once i see it. thanks for the "review" lol.


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InvisibleGRTUD
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Registered: 01/30/01
Posts: 270
Loc: United States
Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1320121 - 02/19/03 03:58 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

I'm supposed to go see this friday or over the weekend. I'll get back to you when I see it. I'm looking forward to seeing a movie with some substance that can strike up debate. I'm really hoping that it is not an over simplifcation of the issues we deal with in our society these days. From what I can tell by people like you and your response, I will come away thinking, which is what I seek, at the moment.


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"New shit has come to light..."

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InvisibleGRTUD
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Male

Registered: 01/30/01
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1327921 - 02/23/03 02:12 AM (21 years, 1 month ago)

OK I saw the movie and am ready to comment but I can't really do so without ruining the experience for other viewers. What I can say is this:
1 - Kevin Spacey is a very good actor when his role
is matched correctly - this role is perfect for him.
2 - The script was good, by movie standards.
3 - The movie was entertaining because the viewer is
a)thrilled by the plot, which by movie standards
is also good;
b)connected with on a level which felt personal
or universal, in an existential way, by the role
of the main character.
I did however find some fundamental flaws with the theme of the movie, which contained major contradictions. I can't really elaborate without revealing some of the plot. If you wish I will PM anyone wishing to continue the discussion.
I would recommend this movie and rate it as a 3 - 3.5 out of 5.


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InvisibleTinMan
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Registered: 10/01/02
Posts: 2,956
Loc: Russia
Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1327929 - 02/23/03 02:22 AM (21 years, 1 month ago)

I saw this movie about 3 weeks ago as part of a special press showing. It was a good movie, but it had the normal kind of ending. Too depressing, but still a good movie.

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InvisibleSclorch
Clyster

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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: GRTUD]
    #1328056 - 02/23/03 04:33 AM (21 years, 1 month ago)

GRTUD: I did however find some fundamental flaws with the theme of the movie, which contained major contradictions. I can't really elaborate without revealing some of the plot. If you wish I will PM anyone wishing to continue the discussion.
I would recommend this movie and rate it as a 3 - 3.5 out of 5.


I think you can discuss them here... there's a disclaimer above.
I'd rate it a 4 out of 5. 5 would be Fight Club... Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... Brazil... Royal Tenenbaums... etc.

It's hard to make a good (thinking wo/man's) movie that can also be entertaining for the masses. But I think that The Life of David Gale was pretty successful in that respect. Granted, there were no super-original ideas in it, but there were some classics in there (that aren't seen in 95% of movies shown in theaters).


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Note: In desperate need of a cure...

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InvisibleGRTUD
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1329423 - 02/23/03 05:16 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

The movie was very, very good but based on character analysis I thought the theme and the main plot was "thin".
The best part of the movie was the sub plot of a man (Gale) versus himself. The loss of "fantasy" (which were great little scenes in the beginning and end of the movie) made him another person who justified the means by its end, which contradicts the whole idea of the anti death penalty movement, in my humble opinion. I couldn't believe that the character of David Gale could watch someone die the way his friend chose in the movie. I had to stretch my imagination to believe his character could lose all compassion and he gave no obvious clues that he could in fact, murder, even if by complicity or assisted suicide (in the manner it was carried out). Perhaps I could believe that this was a suicide pact between friends, but the amount of time between incidents (her death/his death, counting on a conviction and death sentence, which would be in no way guaranteed - anti death penalty advocates would know this fact more than most people) would have been no immediate relief, which being an alcoholic, he would have needed. Perhaps I could believe that he would "thumb his nose at authority" to show them he was smarter than the evil "establishment" and conspire to entrap "them", by such a plot, but again his means would have mocked his intelligence and compassion.
Sadly, the sub plot was probably overlooked because the idea, that his character could have taken more responsibility for his own life and the people he supposedly loved, wouldn't sell tickets like the topic of capital punishment and the blame game it has become. (e.g.) He could have fought to get his son back or clear his name or both. He could have been more of a comfort to his friend that was dying and then had a break through on the issue of death and why it only victimizes anyone in its path, no matter the intention. An argument that persuades all sides of the topic, including (heaven forbid we mention) the victim. I felt that the movie "sold out" to some extent, which I blame on us, the consumer, because the writers and producers probably polled the prospective audience when it tackled the real difficult issues, which are centered in our belief structure as a society and how we assess blame, when really we need to take more responsibility for our own behavior. That idea is "downer" to our society. The idea that we make a difference in small ways, to people that are insignificant to the media or fame, isn't glamorous enough for the American Consumer.
The movie was well acted, scripted and produced. It was entertaining and thought provoking, albeit in a predictable manner (in terms of theme, not the plot).



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"New shit has come to light..."

Edited by GRTUD (02/23/03 05:23 PM)

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OfflineStrumpling
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1329484 - 02/23/03 05:35 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

I saw it yesterday and thought it was great :smile:


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Insert an "I think" mentally in front of eveything I say that seems sketchy, because I certainly don't KNOW much. Also; feel free to yell at me.
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InvisibleSclorch
Clyster

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Registered: 07/12/99
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: GRTUD]
    #1332866 - 02/24/03 09:21 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

It wasn't any more "sold out" than Vanilla Sky...

I don't think the capital punishment issue was ever tackled so well in a movie.
I think there was a little more bias towards the content (anti-death penalty) rather than the form (plot, theme, character development, etc.). As such, I bend the rules a little (ala Waking Life)...


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Offlinejahbyrd
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Registered: 01/14/03
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Loc: New south
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1333040 - 02/25/03 12:36 AM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Good movie more political than spiritual, although there were alot of biblical refrences, Two thumbs up! :grin:

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InvisibleGRTUD
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: Sclorch]
    #1334784 - 02/25/03 12:19 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

It wasn't any more "sold out" than Vanilla Sky...




What does Vanilla Sky have to do with this movie? My point was that if people cared more for the little details and their true responsibilities in life, issues like the death penatly would be almost moot. David Gale was as much a coward as he was a crusader, which actually made the movie more likable to me because that is reality. That is how people are in real life. That is how human nature is and why we search for "fantasy" in the first place, which I observed as the author's way of tying the story all together; character, plot and theme (very nice, thought I). I thought your impression to the response of the auidience was the same as mine, from how you prefaced the thread. I felt the auidience concentrated only on the volitile issue i.e. capital punishment, when in fact this movie was about us; human nature and why we have these problems in the first place.
Because this was a complex work (automatically ranking it as a 2 or more star movie) there was much more going on benneath the main plot. The only problem with complex works is (in my observation) the auidiences' lack of appreciation for the sub plot, which many times is more linked to the theme than the main plot. American movies have all but eliminated such complex works because it has become more business than art.


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Invisibledee_N_ae
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: GRTUD]
    #1334968 - 02/25/03 01:12 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

*possible spoiler*

The person I saw the film with felt that in the end the main characters' basic sense of compassion that put them in that situation in the first place was betrayed by their actions.
She said "it was a writer's movie", meaning that while it had a good twist, the emotional/spiritual aspects of the characters did not line up with the outcome.

I understand her point but I don't relly agree with it because I believe that acts of compassion can be both nice and flowery or nasty and seemingy unpleasent.
This film is excellent compared to most being released these days, I'd highly recommend it to anybody.

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OfflineStrumpling
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: dee_N_ae]
    #1335151 - 02/25/03 02:10 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Well-said, dee_N_ae


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Insert an "I think" mentally in front of eveything I say that seems sketchy, because I certainly don't KNOW much. Also; feel free to yell at me.
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InvisibleGRTUD
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: dee_N_ae]
    #1336992 - 02/26/03 06:05 AM (21 years, 1 month ago)

So let me see if I understand what you are saying (and at least one other person who took the time to agree with you).


Quote:

acts of compassion can be both nice and flowery or nasty and seemingy unpleasent.




So an act of compassion (according to you and possibly others) could be watching a person you care about commit suicide, in a manner that is degrading, inflicting of psychological trauma to those left behind, (because of the implied element of torture) including the "victim's" family, those involved in the investigation and recovery of the crime scene, those unfortunate enough to be selected to serve on the jury, intentionally entrapped. This act of "compassion" by a man so committed to make a point over a sensational issue (which up to that point had only an indirect relation to his life), that he was willing to forsake his responsibilities as a father, a friend and a respected member of society.
Well with that kind of compassion I suppose we all must reconsider Hitler's intentions (I used Hitler on purpose! Does anyone know why?) BLATANT HINT: You will have to see the movie to really understand the irony.


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Invisibledee_N_ae
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: GRTUD]
    #1337181 - 02/26/03 07:44 AM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Each and every person is responsible for their own actions. Period.

It's their fault if they are grossed out or otherwise disturbed and traumatized by what they see or do.
This goes for each and every character in the film as well as people in "Real Life".


She was already dying of lukemia. Gale was an alcoholic who, in his eyes, had little to nothing to live for except his Cause. (as far as he knew he wouldn't see his kid again because his family thought he was a rapist)

As for the torture aspect of the "crime", the only casue I see for that is the writer's sick imagination.
Perhaps they were trying to show what it's like to have your lungs chemically constricted by lethal injection, I don't know.

You bring up a good point though and it makes me wonder if the film would have fared better had it been written by someone a bit less sensational and more purposefully in tune with the spiritual/"life lesson" aspect of the story.


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InvisibleGRTUD
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: dee_N_ae]
    #1341019 - 02/27/03 02:51 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

Each and every person is responsible for their own actions. Period.

It's their fault if they are grossed out or otherwise disturbed and traumatized by what they see or do.
This goes for each and every character in the film as well as people in "Real Life".




So I should accept responsibility for Hitler's actions because I was grossed out by his "compassion" toward Jews and every other non-Aryan member of the earth?  :confused: 


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Invisibledee_N_ae
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: GRTUD]
    #1341077 - 02/27/03 03:27 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

I'm sorry but the comparison of David Gale to Hitler is rediculous.

Your question makes no sense to me whatsoever.


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InvisibleGRTUD
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: dee_N_ae]
    #1343316 - 02/28/03 02:53 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

I'm sorry but the comparison of David Gale to Hitler is rediculous.




You are absolutely correct!  So why, are there comparisons made to anyone who disagrees with the left wing in this country and Hitler, the most notorious mass murder in history? Is that anymore ridiculous than comparing David Gale to Hitler? He had the audacity to compare our government (and the notion that capital punishment is viable, in a system of justice) to Hitler, when he entrapped the governor in the debate near the beginning of the movie. Hitler was a homicidal madman that had proved time after time he was capable of twisting the rule of law into pathological hatred, before and after he came to power. The constant comparison, of the suspected abuse in our system, to fascisim is bordering on hysteria. It (to me) has all the makings of the "boy who cried wolf" when murderers (albeit suspected ones) are chosen for the poster children of a "compassionate" society.                       
I've gotten a bit off my original point, though, which is I agree with your point (about how ridiculous it is to compare almost anyone to Hitler).  Capital punishment and the opposition to death, in general, needs to be much more proactive than reactive, on all sides. (Not enough time to continue this debate at this time. I will return to it at some point, with a vengeance).


          :wink: 


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InvisibleGRTUD
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: dee_N_ae]
    #1343323 - 02/28/03 02:57 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Quote:

I believe that acts of compassion can be both nice and flowery or nasty and seemingy unpleasent. 




That is exactly what proponents of capital punishment believe.  :blush: 


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Invisibledee_N_ae
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Re: "The Life of David Gale" [Re: GRTUD]
    #1343436 - 02/28/03 03:59 PM (21 years, 1 month ago)

Well strap 'em down and fry 'em up! I'm running for President!!!!!
:grin:   

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