Conviction

This movie is described as "inspirational", "brave", "a triumph of brotherly love" etc But putting such boasting statements aside, it is a very American tale of someone overcoming huge difficulties and ending as a winner of some sort. Hilary Swank is specialized in playing white-trash characters hoping for - and hardly ever finding - a better life. Refreshingly, in this movie, she has a brother who is trashier than she is. Therefore, I was hoping the great Sam Rockwell could perform the miracle to elevate this movie from the usual Hillary sad-sack story into something more thrilling. Unfortunately, this is not such miracle. It is the story of a very unhappy family with nine children and a trashy mother - two of those children growing up wild and loose, committing petty crimes. Then Kenny - played by Rockwell - graduates into big crime, allegedly murdering and robbing a neighbor. It is never clear whether he committed the crime, even if it seemed quite likely. Despite evidence against him, his sister Betty played by Swank, embarks in a crazy crusade to prove his innocence. Based on nothing else than her belief in his innocent. She studies to become a lawyer, while at the same time destroying her own marriage and personal life. Very stubbornly (and rather selfishly) Betty pursues her only goal, tramping over the lives of her husband and children. Finally, Kenny is acquitted, mainly because DNA tests of the evidence cast doubt on his conviction. But it is a far cry from stating he was innocent. His acquittal belongs to the dubious realm of guilt (or innocence) which cannot be proved or disproved. Anyway, guilty or innocent, he is portrayed as an utterly unpleasant character and not much more pleasant is his sister Betty. Stubborn, unreasonable, narrow-minded, self-righteous she is made of weird stuff for a heroines. In the end, it is very hard to feel much sympathy either for her or her brother, despite the fact she made it through college for such a narrow goal.

source: Betty Anne Waters

This is a true story of a man convicted of a bloody murder in a Boston suburb in the 1980s . There are witnesses who say that he told him he did it and there is blood typing evidence (this is before DNA analysis) which strongly suggests it was him. The only thing going for him is his sister who is sure that he didn't do it. You have seen this relatively simple plot play out many times on television on Dateline, 20/20 or on similar programs. The only difference here is that you have another magnificent performance by Hillary Swank playing Betty Anne Waters who is going to take the next 18 years of her life completing High School, going to college and then law school in order to see if there is way to get her brother his freedom. You also have Sam Rockwell, playing the brother Kenny, in a performance that should earn him an Academy Award nomination. The screen play by Pamela Gray and the direction by Tony Goldwyn gives us pieces of their childhood which clarifies their great devotion to each other. The struggle of Betty Ann to become a lawyer and her determination to find the evidence that would be the key to saving her brother allows us to understand this person. Her interaction with Kenny similarly provides insight into his pain and bravado. The difficult lives of the people in the community where this happened and the very questionable actions of the police and district attorney Martha Coakley (who subsequently was defeated in the recent US Senate race in Massachusetts to replace Kennedy) was brought out by a stunning performance of Juliette Lewis who played one of the witnesses who recounts what really happened to make her testify against Kenny. We had the good fortune to meet at our preview screening Swank, Rockwell, Lewis, the real life Betty Anne Waters and her good friend and fellow law student Abra Rice who was well played in the movie by Minnie Driver. They confirmed that truth is stranger and at times more unbelievable than fiction. I recall reading about the well known lawyer Barry Scheck, who was depicted in this movie, and wondering about his decision to devote his career to the Innocence Project where the new science of DNA matching is applied to old crimes. It turns out that over 250 innocent people have been freed from prison due to his efforts. There is one particular line in this film stands out in this regard as Swank as Betty Ann remarks that if Massachusetts had the death penalty her brother would have been killed before she had chance to make a case for his innocence. Swank, speaking for herself at our screening told how making this movie allowed her to understand the unique life affirming experience that these people went through. Watching this film also gave the audience the opportunity to share this journey. Filmrap.net

Going in I knew what the story was about, a woman who completes her education to free the brother who she believes was wrongly convicted of murder. I'd read that Waters, (Swank's character) finishes high school and college and goes to law school; there is a passing comment about her getting her GED, we then see a classroom filled with people younger than she; the professor calls on her and asks, "What is a contract?"...all of a sudden she's in law school? Swank is married, and has two children, we don't know what the husband does, but if her clothes are any indication, he's doing okay. She and her husband are having problems, on a visit to her brother in prison, she's not wearing her wedding band; in a later scene she is wearing it, subsequently they divorce. At this point their two sons are probably 11 and 13, four years later they're still the same size. These are just a few of the things that really annoyed me about the film, coupled with a running time of an hour and forty five minutes during which flaws in a more tightly edited film would not have been nearly as glaring.

Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo and Juliette Lewis. That is the list of experienced actors and actresses heading up the true story of "Conviction." The 20-year story line exposes a corrupt legal system. With an outstanding cast and a poignant subject matter it is destined to deliver an emotional power house of a story. Right? It just has to. So why do I feel like I have seen yet another "innocent-man-is-wrongly-accused" movie? I am confused on why the director (Tony Goldwyn) chose the opening shots that he did. The first scenes do stick in my memory. A lone camera walks through a seemingly empty trailer home in Ayer, Massachusetts in 1980 quietly showing us a gruesome murder scene. Then we are shuffled ahead in time to see Kenny Waters (played by Rockwell) meeting with his sister Betty Anne (played by Swank) in prison. Then we are sent back in time to when Betty Anne is in her first year of law school. Maybe audiences who like to be confused will enjoy the opening. It didn't set any tone for the movie since it takes a straight shot to tell the rest of the story with a few wisely placed flashbacks. We are taken back roughly to the 1960s showing the bond being developed between Kenny and Betty Anne as children. They come from a broken home and we learn that they only have each other in this twisted world. Goldwyn tosses us into a bar where we see Kenny's violent, friendly and class clown traits all within five minutes. As an actor, Rockwell is a likable guy. He has a playful confidence about him that seems to win audiences over for the most part (i.e. his role as Chuck Barris in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"). The man that Rockwell portrays here also seems to be liked — not only by his sister but also by the police department in Ayer. Well, all except Nancy Taylor (played by Leo), an officer on the Ayer Police Department. We don't know why Nancy has it in for him. It would have helped if Nancy had a background telling us why she wanted to arrest Kenny so bad. After a couple of years Kenny is arrested and tried for the murder in 1980. He is hauled off to prison because of the testimonies of his girlfriends (one of whom was supposedly assaulted by Kenny) and Taylor. After Kenny's suicide attempt in prison, Betty Anne dedicates the next 20 years of her life to obtain her GED, go to college to earn a law degree and to work on this one case to prove her brother's innocence. Aside from the story line, the cast was a joy to watch. Where has Juliette Lewis been? It was good to see her for a brief time on screen. She does give a brilliant and humorous performance. Swank and Rockwell could possibly each earn an Oscar nod. Personally, I think Swank should earn an Oscar nod simply for rising out of bed in the morning. I am still torn on why I don't have anything more than a middle ground feeling for Kenny or Betty Anne considering the actual court case or the performances. Maybe it's because I didn't connect with Kenny's plight. Innocent or not, it seemed as if he was headed for trouble. Not "murder" trouble but trouble nonetheless. Maybe it's because there was a woman who was murdered in 1980 and I don't know anything about the actual victim. I am sure her life was just as important as Kenny's life. Should you see this movie? Your Honor, I would like to cite precedent of "The Hurricane" or even, ahem, "An Innocent Man." We have seen most of this film before in one way or another. Your Honor, if you haven't seen those legalese movies or a similar "an-innocent-man-is-jailed-and-the-legal-system-is-corrupt" movie then please make a motion to see "Conviction."

The story this movie is based on is quite amazing, even more when you think it actually happened in real life... but the movie itself is quite poor. The script never rises beyond the melodramatic, cheesy, predictable stuff. The characters are flat, one-dimensional, without any development. The music never leaves a certain melancholic tone which drags the film the whole way through. In general, I felt disconnected and unmoved even in moments when I realized that the story was at a crucial point... It's too bad that such a good story got wasted with such a bland and unremarkable film. The 2 stars go only to the actors, who tried to put forward a decent job... unfortunately, it's not enough. Unless you are bored to death and have absolutely nothing better to do, do not waste your time with this movie.

I've been wanting to watch Tony Goldwyn's 'Conviction' for a long time. Now movies like this have been done before. While there is the story of 'guilty until proved innocent' but what makes this one stand out is the authenticity with which the brother-sister relationship is portrayed. One doesn't see many Hollywood movies explore sibling relationships unless it's in the form of mockery like 'Stepbrothers'. There are but a very few exceptions like Kenneth Lonergan's beautiful 'You Can Count On Me'. Swank and Rockwell are very convincing as sister and brother. Their on screen interlude appears very natural and this only makes Betty Anne's determination to prove her brother's innocence all the more believable. Needless to say, both actors are at their best and they are supported wonderfully by Melissa Leo (who plays a bent copper), Juliette Lewis (she seems to have mastered playing trailer-trash characters), Clea Duvall (the lying wife), Minnie Driver (the charming friend) and Peter Gallagher. One can easily relate to Swank's Betty Anne struggling with the bureaucratic legal system and her drive to free her brother. Unless one has money or the right contacts, one can recognize the situations where Betty Anne is passed over from one administration to another. 'Conviction' is a compelling watch. It involves the viewer right from the very beginning and even though you can predict the ending, it's Betty Anne and Kenny's faith in each other that keeps you hooked.

Even the excellent performances of Sam Rockwell and Hilary Swank can't save this absolute farce of a film. Conviction is such a drag. There is nothing interesting about the story. But just the fact that it's a real story about a brother and sister, who spent most of their childhood in foster homes, fighting for justice managed to attract a lot of good actors. Once they're on board, director Tony Goldwyn lets them do all the work. He just sits by and watches them work while translating the screenplay in a color by number fashion. The pace is steady only because the director makes no attempt at capturing your attention. Depicting real events hardly matters when what you see on screen isn't the least bit believable. Not worth your time. Just skip it. Rating - 4/10

This movie is described as "inspirational", "brave", "a triumph of brotherly love" etc… But putting such boasting statements aside, it is a very American tale of someone overcoming huge difficulties and ending as a winner of some sort. Hilary Swank is specialized in playing white-trash characters hoping for – and hardly ever finding – a better life. Refreshingly, in this movie, she has a brother who is trashier than she is. Therefore, I was hoping the great Sam Rockwell could perform the miracle to elevate this movie from the usual Hillary sad-sack story into something more thrilling. Unfortunately, this is not such miracle. It is the story of a very unhappy family with nine children and a trashy mother – two of those children growing up wild and loose, committing petty crimes. Then Kenny – played by Rockwell – graduates into big crime, allegedly murdering and robbing a neighbor. It is never clear whether he committed the crime, even if it seemed quite likely. Despite evidence against him, his sister Betty played by Swank, embarks in a crazy crusade to prove his innocence. Based on nothing else than her belief in his innocent. She studies to become a lawyer, while at the same time destroying her own marriage and personal life. Very stubbornly (and rather selfishly) Betty pursues her only goal, tramping over the lives of her husband and children. Finally, Kenny is acquitted, mainly because DNA tests of the evidence cast doubt on his conviction. But it is a far cry from stating he was innocent. His acquittal belongs to the dubious realm of guilt (or innocence) which cannot be proved or disproved. Anyway, guilty or innocent, he is portrayed as an utterly unpleasant character and not much more pleasant is his sister Betty. Stubborn, unreasonable, narrow-minded, self-righteous she is made of weird stuff for a heroines. In the end, it is very hard to feel much sympathy either for her or her brother, despite the fact she made it through college for such a narrow goal.