The Life of David Gale

A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

Critics were almost universally hostile, finding the anti-death-penalty thriller too implausible and heavy-handed to make its case — yet audiences consistently rewarded it, a gap that has only widened over time. The central tension in the reviews wasn't whether the film was flawed but whether it actually undermines the very cause it claims to champion.