The film follows the final nine months of the life of Gary Gilmore, Tommy Lee Jones as he is released at 35 after twelve years for robbery in Indiana and is allowed to fly to Utah to live with Brenda Nicol, a distant cousin who offers to sponsor him. Christine Lahti brings warmth to the role of Brenda Nicol, who makes a principled effort to help him reintegrate, but the transition proves extraordinarily difficult after such a long stretch behind bars. Gilmore then moves in with his Uncle Vern, Eli Wallach Damico, and he apprentices at Vern’s shoe repair shop before trying a different job in an insulation factory, where he initially performs well but soon slips into irregular hours and tense clashes with coworkers.
He meets Nicole Baker, Rosanna Arquette, a 19-year-old with two young children, and a fragile romance begins to form. Despite his attempts to reform, Gilmore slides back into fights, thefts, and heavy drinking and drug use, alarming the people who care about him. Nicole ultimately leaves after an incident of violence, and she goes into hiding with her children, leaving Gilmore to confront the consequences of his actions alone.
Over the next two days, Gilmore murders two men in separate robberies. Brenda Nicol grows suspicious and tells authorities that she fears Gilmore may be involved, and he is quickly taken into custody. He is convicted of one murder and given a death sentence under a state law crafted to fit the Supreme Court’s rulings on capital punishment, signaling a broader legal shift in how the death penalty could be applied.
As the case moves through appeals, Gilmore’s lawyers, the ACLU, and his family attempt to persuade him to pursue more avenues for relief, but he insists on exercising his right to be executed, becoming a national media sensation in the process. Publishers and reporters rush to acquire his story and film rights, transforming his fate into a public spectacle while his supporters seek justice on his terms.
The night before the execution, Gilmore’s supporters—family, friends, and legal counsel—gather on death row for a final, quiet gathering that contrasts with the media attention surrounding his case. On January 17, 1977, Gilmore is executed by firing squad, a choice he makes for himself, and his body is cremated after parts are donated in accordance with his wishes. He is noted as the first person to be judicially executed in the United States since Luis Monge’s Colorado execution on June 2, 1967, marking a sobering milestone in the country’s ongoing debate over capital punishment.
