Movie Review: Conviction

Conviction

R, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed By

Tony Goldwyn

Written By

Pamela Gray

Genres

Drama

Main Actors: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver

Easy on the eyes factor: 4. Minnie Driver is always very cute in most of her roles. Very attractive in Good Will Hunting. Hilary Swank does nothing for me and Sam Rockwell is well, Sam Rockwell.

30 Minute Rule: It's based on a true story, so it gets right to the crime in question. Gives you very fast character references on the relationship between the siblings.

Plot: CONVICTION is the inspirational true story of a sister's unwavering devotion to her brother. When Betty Anne Waters' (two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank) older brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice (Academy Award nominee Minnie Driver), Betty Anne pores through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy Taylor (Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo), meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny's arrest. Belief in her brother - and her quest for the truth - pushes Betty Anne and her team to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.

My Review: Although we liked this movie (my wife and I), I had a lot of questions as I was watching it, so I kept going to Wikipedia on my phone to get details. Mainly because the story, while being based on truth, is just so darn unbelievable. A man stays in prison for 18 years for a crime that he did not commit, waiting for his high school dropout sister, who doesn't even have a GED, go to night school to obtain her GED, go to community college, go to undergrad university, go to law school and to pass the bar and get her law degree so that she can appeal his conviction and get him out of jail. That is about as believable as a no name boxer from Philly getting a shot at the boxing title and winning. Yes. This is the Rocky of legal dramas. Only this time, it's a true story. Not only that, she goes toe-to-toe with the States Attorney General and the whole justice system of Massachusetts, and yes, she's a high school dropout. Did I mention that she was married with children?

The actors were very convincing and made it a very compelling story. Hilary Swank was true to form as she was in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby. But even now as I'm writing about it, I can't believe it. Something the movie doesn't share with you is that the convicted murderer Kenny Waters who spent the 18 years in a maximum penitentiary waiting for his dropout sister to get her law degree. actually died just 6 weeks after getting out of prison! So here is a man who survived 18 years, in an environment that I'm not sure if I could last one day. Gets out and tragically falls off a wall doing construction and dies from head trauma. Unbelievable.

Nevertheless, I liked the movie.

Rating: 6 of 10 ♥♥♥♥♥♥