The Executioner's Song

11/28/19822h 15m

TV Release (US)

~ The story of two people who fell in love.....and kept on falling. ~

Overview:

In this fact-based made-for TV film, Gary Gilmore, an Indiana man who just finished serving a lengthy stay in prison, tries to start anew by moving to Utah. Before long, Gary begins an ill-advised romance with the troubled Nicole Baker, a teenage single mother. As their relationship quickly deteriorates, Gary goes on a murderous rampage, leaving two dead. During his trial, he demands capital punishment; a media circus ensues and outsiders look to profit from his story.

Director:

Lawrence Schiller

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

suicide attempt
utah
death row
biography
murder
capital punishment
execution

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones

~ as ~

Gary Mark Gilmore

Christine Lahti

~ as ~

Brenda Nicol

Rosanna Arquette

~ as ~

Nicole Baker

Eli Wallach

~ as ~

Vern Damico

Steven Keats

~ as ~

Larry Samuels

Jordan Clarke

~ as ~

Johnny Nicol

Richard Venture

~ as ~

Earl Dorius

Jenny Wright

~ as ~

April Baker

Kenneth O'Brien

~ as ~

Spencer McGrath

John Dennis Johnston

~ as ~

Jimmy Poker-Game

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
6
t was always going to be a challenge to dramatise this Norman Mailer book. It is a complex and intricate story of ex-con "Gary Gilmore" (Tommy Lee Jones) who is released back into society after serving a sentence for armed robbery. He quickly meets Nicole (Rosanna Arquette) with whom he has a child, before that all goes wrong and his life spirals out of control again. Determined to buy a white pick up truck from a local dealer, he turns to robbery to fund this - needlessly killing two men as he goes. He is easily identified, arrested and sentenced to death by firing squad (his choice) after insisting that all appeals be abandoned. It is clear, to me anyway, that "Gilmore" is ill - psychopathic, perhaps, and TLJ manages the role with some skill. Arquette also shines , she portrays the teenage mother vacillating from terror of the man to adoration in a convincing, earthy, manner. It's the pace of the thing that got me; it all takes far too long to get anywhere. It simply doesn't need to be 2¼ hours long and the last twenty minutes drag out the inevitable conclusion unnecessarily. Eli Wallach features all to sparingly as does Christine Lahti and though Jones delivers a powerful performance that does much to sustain this depiction of this very flawed human being, I found myself actually just a little bit bored by it all.