Conviction follows the true story of Betty Anne Waters (Swank) and her brother Kenny (Rockwell). After Kenny is sentenced to life without parole for a brutal murder, Betty Anne goes back to school to get her GED, BA, and JD so that she can exonerate him. Although the audience may still have their doubts, Betty Anne is unswaying in her belief of her brother's innocence. As she devotes more and more of her life to this case, we become more and more apprehensive that it may have all just been a waste. The story itself is remarkable and inspiring; we would not be able to suspend our disbelief had this movie been fictitious. But it serves to show us the dedication family members have for each other, no matter how unlikely the odds are. This is true not only in the main plot architecture, but also in the side stories: a number of characters' motivations for doing seemingly despicable acts stem from the fact that they don't want to lose their children.
The acting was exquisite. I truly enjoyed the superb performances by Rockwell, Leo, and Lewis, but I found Swank's character to be extremely similar to that in her previous Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby. Jomarie and I got the chance to listen to a Q&A with the real Betty Anne Waters, and it was a real treat to hear her talk about the experiences and elaborate on a number of items the movie only glossed over. The woman is strong and resilient; it shows in everything she does. Quite frankly, I don't think Hilary Swank did her justice. Other than that, the technical aspects are not particularly noteworthy. The script serves the purpose of telling the story and doesn't attempt anything further. The directing is acceptable, the cinematography is mediocre, and the editing is rather bland. There are rarely any textual descriptors of time and place, despite the fact that the story bounces around in those two dimensions quite frequently. But it works here. It is able to maintain the mood of the piece across all those varying scenes. And the mood is really the movie's strongest aspect. It is able to twist your heartstrings, alternating between repeated injustices and hope for redemption before its ultimate conclusion. This is an incredible story wrapped up in a simple film, but it is definitely worth watching.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1244754/