Conviction

There has been a rather disheartening lack of great movies lately. Fortunately, some of the more independent, limited released films are beginning to fill the void left by new movies at the cinema. Conviction is one of those movies that has been out for a while, but just started showing in our local theater this last weekend.

Conviction is based on a true story about a brother and sister, Betty Anne (Hillary Swank) and Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell), who grew up in an abusive household where their bond was strengthened by their dependency on each other. Kenny is rough around the edges and doesn’t have a respect for authority. As a result, he is constantly being picked up by the authorities with which he’s on a first name basis. When he upsets a female police officer who arrested him for a murder, she finds a way to pin the heinous crime on him and he ends up getting locked away for life.

The real story is about Betty Anne, a high school drop out and single mother of two boys. Kenny gets put away and there is no more money for a lawyer to reopen the case, but Betty Anne sets aside her entire life to prove her brother’s innocence. Without even a high school diploma, she must get her GED, go to college, pass the bar exam, and get her law degree all while working a full time job and trying to raise her children on her own.

Most of the story is in centered around Betty Anne’s struggle to get access to the evidence of the murder so she can test the DNA and prove her brother’s innocence. Though the story is compelling, it is also slow-moving. It is singularly focused on getting Kenny out of prison but attempts to add conflict and resolution to the story by causing the audience to wonder if Kenny is genuinely innocent or not. However, the story is rather predictable since they wouldn’t make a movie like this if it didn’t have a satisfying ending.

Hillary Swank does a perfect job at carrying the movie and offering believability to the story. Sam Rockwell offsets Swank’s steady performance by fully exploring his character, at times stealing the scene, while offering several layers to the story. One such layer includes Juliette Lewis’s role as the witness who helped put Kenny behind bars as well as Melissa Leo who plays the arresting officer.

The real Betty Ann and Kenny Waters

Overall, Conviction is compelling and touching as a true story. The fact that Betty Anne was actually able to accomplish what she did, beating the odds that were stacked against her,  is truly remarkable. Though genuinely heart-warming, this isn’t a hugely entertaining movie, and might be a little too long. There are moments that just drag on and though the constant jumping around in the timeline at the beginning of the film is designed to condense the story, it could have been done in a more direct and thorough manner.

I’d give this film 3 and a half out of 5 stars. It’s a good story, but worth waiting until it’s out on DVD.

This film is rated R for violent images and language, though it’s not shocking or provocative at all.