# Ebert give "The Life of David Gale" Zero Stars based on unrevealed ending... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2003, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523 "2003-02-21T11:58:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/21 "2003-02-21T18:00:23Z")
Thanks, **kaylasdad99**. I figured it was something along those lines. I agree with Ebert that that is a painfully stupid ending. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/22 "2003-02-21T18:01:07Z")
Hmmm. Interesting spoiler, kaylasdad99, although it seems to contradict the admittedly vague review [here](http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/movie/TVCONNECT/00010101/144898). Myself, I was betting that it ended like the other, rarely seen but quite good death penalty movie: Fritz Lang’s **Beyond a Reasonable Doubt** ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/23 "2003-02-21T18:04:28Z")
Ebert gave zero stars to _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead_ and _The Doom Generation_, as well as _North_. Which were all great movies, IMO. (Well, The Doom Generation did suck, but I loved it in a nihilistic sort of way.) It goes without saying that I’m gonna catch this David Gale movie this afternoon. It’s gonna rock! ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/24 "2003-02-21T18:05:41Z")
I read the spoiler and it was roughly what I had guessed it would be from the hints in some of the reviews. Actually if handled subtly this ending could have been quite interesting. The trick would be to keep it open-ended and suggest the ending without quite spelling it out. But of course that’s not the Hollywood way. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/25 "2003-02-21T18:25:00Z")
Does this movie star Bruce Willis and Susan Surrandon by some coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/26 "2003-02-21T18:29:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kaylasdad99 \* > \*\*I read the spoiler at the mr. cranky site, and would like to post it here. I hope your spoiler tags function properly. The “murder victim” and David Gale were in cahoots all along. She sacrifices her life by committing suicide (she has leukemia, so she figures she’s going to die anyway), and makes it look like murder. David Gale colludes in his own framing, also sacrificing himself by willingly being executed for a murder that he did not commit. The reporter is duped into uncovering and proving his innocence when it is too late to stop the execution. The whole conspiracy between the two is an attempt to make the point that, because the death penalty has resulted in the execution of a proven innocent man, it must be abolished (David Gale and the “murder victim” are anti-death penalty activists, you see). > > Now to preview and make sure the tags worked. . . > > Okay, we’re ready to roll. \*\* That’s one of the dumbest things i’ve ever heard. I give it negative 6 stars! ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/27 "2003-02-21T18:30:22Z")
No it stars Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet. Are you thinking of the parody film Habeas Corpus in Altman’s The Player? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/28 "2003-02-21T18:31:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biggirl \* > \*\*It was all a dream. > > This is not a spoiler. This is an ending that would make me give it zero stars, though. \*\* So you give Zero stars The Wizard of Oz? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/29 "2003-02-21T18:48:05Z")
I saw this movie a couple of weeks ago at an advance sneak preview (there’s been a review on my web site for at least a week now), and the spoiler provided by **kaylasdad99** is accurate. The worst part of the sneak preview is that _Kevin Spacey was there._ He was doing pre-release publicity-tour talks with the movie, trying to drum up word of mouth. It was exceedingly painful to see him (apparently) sincerely talking about how much he liked the movie, and the audience lining up to kiss his ass, even after we’d seen what a turkey the thing really is. And the worst part about the “clever twist ending” is that it causes the movie to shoot itself right in the foot. More detail in the spoiler box. Up until that point, when we find out that the whole thing is a setup, it’s a straightforward, if strident, anti-death-penalty screed. But after that, the movie is no longer about the death penalty per se. Rather, it’s about how a system, any system, can be manipulated and perverted if someone is smart and motivated. Clearly, the movie believes itself to be a big, important statement about the death penalty, but in the end it couldn’t be further from it; it’s merely a deeply cynical look at what happens when one guy decides to selfishly throw a monkey wrench into the works. It’s worth seeing, I guess, just to see what a colossal misfire it really is, and is interesting for anyone who wants to witness an act of cinematic hubris on the scale of _Battlefield Earth._ Everyone else should go see _Adaptation_ again. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/30 "2003-02-21T19:00:44Z")
Thanks much, **kaylasdad** ; you just saved me two hours and 9 bucks. Like some others have mentioned, I was all ready to see this, because I’m a fan of Spacey’s and since _Heavenly Creatures_ am now a fan of Winslet. Bleh. That’s offensively stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/31 "2003-02-21T19:10:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CyberPundit \* > \*\*No it stars Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet. > > Are you thinking of the parody film Habeas Corpus in Altman’s The Player? \*\* I think he was kidding about it combining “Dead Man Walking” and “Sixth Sense”, not actually asking the question. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/32 "2003-02-21T19:13:15Z")
Actually, I was talking about The Player. ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/33 "2003-02-21T19:13:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\*Ebert gave zero stars to _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead_ and _The Doom Generation_, as well as _North_. Which were all great movies, IMO. (Well, The Doom Generation did suck, but I loved it in a nihilistic sort of way.) > \*\* His review of _Rosencrantz and Guildenstern_ reveals his one major flaw. That movie he didn’t like because he didn’t believe it brought with it the wit and energy of the stage production. Ebert is constantly comparing films to their source, and if he doesn’t get exactly the same thing from both media then he drops the rating for the film. He expects that if a stage production was mostly about _this_ and the film mostly about _that_, then the film was lacking. He can’t just take the film as a standalone. This is especially annoying when he has absolutely no clue what the original was about or grossly misremembers it, as he has done for both _Lord of the Rings_ reviews thusfar. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/34 "2003-02-21T19:16:14Z")
**Slight hijack** Maybe now people will realize how bad American Beauty was. **end hijack** I never see a movie just for the actor. My belief is that the actor can enhance the moive but it is the script that makes the actor. This was one movie I wasn’t intersted in even renting. Now this just justifies my inital reaction to the promos. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/35 "2003-02-21T19:31:49Z")
“Actually, I was talking about The Player” As it happens I saw The Player just a couple of days back. The death-penalty sequence which parodies Hollywood films was hilarious. I think David Gale is bad in a different way though: it’s pretentious and contrived rather than feel-good ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/36 "2003-02-21T19:58:02Z")
Hey, thanks for the MovieSpoiler link. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/37 "2003-02-21T20:02:35Z")
Thank you all for saving me the $$ of seeing this…I think I can safely wait until it is on HBO in a year or so. I wish I had been so clever and had avoided paying to see K Pac (or whatever that mess was called). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/38 "2003-02-21T20:18:13Z")
Actually I **liked** _American Beauty_. But what I really like about Kevin Spacey’s work is [Hopper](http://freethemes.proxad.net/wallpaper/preview/164102.html). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anaclaidiabhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@Anaclaidiabhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaclaidiabhal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/39 "2003-02-21T20:27:59Z")
kaylasdad99, I liked American Beauty, too. I think people liked it at the time because many of them saw themselves in it–people trapped in a “rut” they’ve made for themselves. People seem to like movies where they see themselves, like The Graduate or Fight Club. I can elaborate on that, if anyone likes. I’m just too lazy right now. (As you can plainly see, since I didn’t even bother putting some HTML in.) ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523/40 "2003-02-21T21:19:37Z")
Hopper ruled! What a mess. I am very disappointed, because I was looking forward to a good movie. Oh well. When does ROTK come out again? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebert-give-the-life-of-david-gale-zero-stars-based-on-unrevealed-ending/156523.md?page=3)