 After a year-long absence from the screen, Winslet starred as a headstrong journalist interviewing a professor on death row in the thriller "The Life of David Gale" (2003).She agreed to the project to work with the director Alan Parker, whom she admired, and believed the film raised pertinent questions about capital punishment.Mick LaSalle thought the film had muddled the subject and disliked both the film and Winslet's performance.