The Life of David Gale Page #3

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the hunt is sweeter

than the kill.

Or be careful what you wish for,

not because you'll get it...

but because you're doomed

not to want it once you do.

So the lesson of Lacan is,

living by your wants

will never make you happy.

What it means to be fully human is

to strive to live by ideas and ideals...

and not to measure your life

by what you've attained

in terms of your desires...

but those small moments

of integrity, compassion...

rationality, even self-sacrifice.

Because in the end, the only way

that we can measure the

significance of our own lives...

is by valuing the lives of others.

All right.

I'll see you all on Monday.

Sorry about being late.

There was, you know, a thing.

Yeah, there usually is, Berlin.

Look, I know that

I'm not doin' too well.

And to torture a clich...

I would do anything to pass.

- Anything, huh?

- Any... thing.

Okay, Berlin.

I will give you a good grade...

I will give you

a very, very good grade...

if you would just...

study.

- Hey.

- Hey.

The T.A. Finished transcribing

all the governor's radio and TV

comments. Listen to this gem.

Journalist:
Governor, don't

you think three executions

in one week is excessive?

Governor:
'I say,

bring'em in, strap'em down

and let's rock and roll."'

It's good to hear that

our governor's in touch

with his inner frat boy.

- Tell me again why you're

not doing this debate.

- Telegenics. You have a cuter butt.

- Oh, I hadn't noticed.

- I know.

- No. I didn't mean that.

I've highlighted stuff.

He'll do the whole

"down home wisdom" thing...

capital punishment is God's law,

an eye for an eye.

Stick to arguments about rational facts.

And watch your ego.

Don't come across as one of those

"I hate authority...

'cause everyone around here

wears big hats and nobody

in charge reads The New Yorker."

- Anything else?

- I'm getting new federal stats

from Amnesty tonight.

Well, bring them by Greer's party.

I have papers to grade.

- And if you have

a hangover tomorrow...

- I'm walkin' away.

- 10:
00! Bright-eyed

and bushy-tailed.

- Bushy-tailed.

Hey, Jamie. Did you

mark your calendar yet?

Yep, I sure did.

One, two, three, four more days

until Mom comes home.

Only four more days?

That's great news.

Can I ask you something?

It's really, really important.

- Of course you can.

- Can we have pancakes for breakfast?

Okay.

- With syrup and strawberries?

- Well, we'll have to see.

- And chocolate shavers?

No, no. It's chocolate shavings.

- And whipped cream?

- Whipped cream?

That's a lot of requests

for one little boy.

- Why don't you go to sleep?

- Do Cloud Dog too.

Okay. Good night,

Cloud Dog.

There you go.

You go to sleep.

Good night.

Don't forget to feed the fish.

- What?

- Don't forget to feed the fish.

- Okay.

Jo Edna, I'll be back before midnight.

Here's the phone number to reach me.

There's chicken and stuff in

the refrigerator if you want some.

That's fine, Mr. Gale. Maybe I'll

fix myself something later. Bye.

Bye.

- Dad, did you feed the fish?

- Yes, I did. Now go to sleep.

- Give me back

my broken night -

- My mirrored room

my secret life -

- He's the Immanuel Kant of the NFL.

He's consistent,

he's accurate, he's effective.

And let's not forget...

boring. He is boring.

If you want boring, read

William Bennett's The Book of Virtues.

I'm still asleep.

Someone wake me up.

- Professor Gale.

Where's your better half?

- John, how are you?

Better half? Oh, my wife.

Um, she's in Spain.

Again? I am sorry.

John, have you seen Alma?

She's been looking for you.

So my wife's affair is

just this big open secret.

Uh, hermeneutical bias.

The only fun truths are

the ones someone's trying to hide.

She's been to Barcelona four

times this year. I don't think

she's trying to hide anything.

Well, her father

is the ambassador.

Yeah, except the embassy's

in Madrid.

Ah. Oh, by the way,

Berlin's here...

and, uh, pretty livid.

- Why?

- We've expelled her.

She got the letter today and

took the opportunity to throw

a little fit in my office.

- Talkin' about me?

- Why, yes, as a matter of fact,

we were.

Did he tell you that I said,

when you were circumcised...

they threw away the wrong part?

Yes. I believe he mentioned it.

It's called schmuck.

- What?

- The part of the foreskin

they throw away...

after circumcision,

I think it's called schmuck.

- Aren't we so f***ing clever?

- I think perhaps I shall get another.

- David?

- Black Bush.

You were a jerk this afternoon.

Well, for what it's worth,

I didn't know about

the expulsion till just now.

Is that supposed to be an apology?

No. It's more like a... conciliation.

- I call you on the phone -

- Every night about this time -

- Ross.! Ross.! Ross.! Ross.!

All right, all right. All right.

As the poets

have mournfully sung...

death takes

the innocent young...

- the screamingly funny,

the rolling in money,

- And those who are very well hung.

Gale! Gale! Gale! Gale!

Gale! Gale!

Gale! Gale!

There once was a lesbian

from Cancun...

- Oh, get dirty!

- Who took a young man up to her room...

where they argued all night

as to who had the right...

to do what and how much

and to whom.

Enough. Enough.

- Ross! Ross!

- I'm spent.

- I have no more.!

- Okay. I'm finished. I'm done.

I'm not a student anymore.

I do not think

I wanna know what that means.

There once was a girl

named Berlin...

who liked a bit

now and again.

Not now and again,

but now...

- And again...

and again.

- Cute, huh?

- Oh, yeah. Very cute.

I have a secret...

but I have to come

over there to tell you.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

No. You s...

- Here...

- No. No.

- I come.

- You stay back.

Woman, you should...

You should...

You should stay...

I wasn't after the grade.

- Look, I don't think

this is... is such a...

- Shh.

Now, we can talk, analyze...

contemplate.

Or you can put your mouth

on my body.

Don't reject me.

Please.

- Rip them.

- What?

Rip them off.

- Rollin' down a mountain

Slowin' down so fast that

I could smell the brakes -

- I got scared away -

No. From behind.

From behind.

Do it hard.

Harder.

Bite my shoulder.

- Aw.!

- Thanks for comin'

- More.! More.!

- All right, you guys,

it's time to go home.

- Get outta here.

It's not gonna work.

That's a faulty argument.

Let's say we found

an innocent on death row.

What would change?

After the retrial, the governor

would simply go on TV...

and say, "See? Thanks to the good people

at DeathWatch, the system works."

Sure, if we had absolute proof

that he had executed an innocent...

we could demand a moratorium,

like in Illinois.

- Are you okay?

- Sorry. Yeah.

But that won't happen.

The dead men can't make a case...

- and almost-martyrs don't count.

- Got it.

- So, keep it rational. And stop that.

- Mm-hmm.

- What?

- Active listening.

I hate active listeners.

I feel like they're too busy

pretending to listen to

actually hear what I'm saying.

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