Movies Reviews

Conviction – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Oct 14, 2010, 15:02 GMT

Betty Anne Waters (Swank) is a high school dropout who spent nearly two decades working as a single mother while putting herself through law school, tirelessly trying to beat the system and overturn her brother\'s (Rockwell) unjust murder conviction. ...more

Betty Anne Waters’ story of selfless devotion to someone she loved is well known.  She is a Massachusetts single mother whose brother Kenny was jailed for life for a murder she believed he didn’t commit. 

Waters put herself through law school, which meant getting a high school degree first and going from there, a process that took 18 years, in order to defend him.  Waters successfully argued for his release based on DNA evidence, which didn’t exist during his trial, and became a folk hero of sorts. 

So as a film, there isn’t an expectation of surprising dramatic revelations for Conviction; it’s in the public record and plenty of pre-release word of mouth.  But director Tony Goldwyn has managed to present the story with strong emotional resonance that is transformative and satisfying.

Betty Anne and Kenny were close siblings who grew up in the same impoverished home and spent most of their time together, but they were very different people.  He was boisterous, quick to anger, mouthy, and obnoxious. 

Betty Anne was even tempered, serious, and tolerated his lifelong bad behavior; she never judged him but had unwavering faith in his essential goodness.  What was the same about them was their intense familial love and loyalty.

Hilary Swank suits the role of Waters; it’s very much in keeping with the earnest types of roles she takes.  She doesn’t make a lot of films, but the ones she does are labors of love and this is clearly meaningful to her. 

Her heavy Boston accent is flawless and her commitment to the character is impressive, and she will definitely be remembered at awards season.  There is a touch of disappointment that the role is familiar Swank territory; it would be good to something different.

Sam Rockwell is positively fierce as Kenny; his characters’ raw power makes him seem twice the size, and awards season may be good for him too.  He makes us feel in the pits of our stomachs what its like to be imprisoned, promised freedom, and go back to square one over the years.  Rockwell and Swank are magical together, and we understand their differences and unifying love in a visceral way.

Supporting performances by Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis and Clea Duvall are nothing short of extraordinary, but too briefly on the screen.  Minnie Driver plays Waters’ best friend and Greek chorus, a sensible, tough woman we’d want supporting us over two turbulent decades.  She never wavers in her dedication to the Waters.

Waters children as portrayed in the film are just as admirable as their mother.  They were often without her as she studied and practiced law, but they understood her passion for justice and admired her for it.  They were there for the important moments, rooting for her and the uncle who was in prison their entire lives.

Waters story is inspiring – could we do what she did?  Put everything on hold to save her brother’s life?  It poses a lot of hard questions and that’s the films greatest challenge, it puts the mirror up to us.

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35mm drama
Written by Pamela Gray
Directed by Tony Goldwyn
Opens: Oct. 15
Runtime:
MPAA: Rated R for language and some violent images
Country: USA
Language: English