Conviction

This is not an entirely bad movie and the issues it touches upon are certainly important. What is more, the acting is not brilliant but it could have been a lot worse. The score is not anything that stays in your memory a minute longer than the actual length of the movie but it is not repelling either. Then why do I dislike Conviction? It certainly lacks in a convincing and coherent plot. The murderer and ruthless criminal reading aloud Shakespeare's sonnets in a prison cell is just the first far-fetched scene. But then it gets even worse and more boring. If there is anything that will make me remember this film, it is the sentence spoken by the main character 'You are not born a n***er, you are made a n***er'. But these words could have been illustrated in a far more interesting way.

The movie has solid acting all the way around. It is the true story of Carl Upchurch. Quite a remarkable story actually. In and out of prison, teaches himself how to read and tries to make a difference in the world instead of using his circumstances as an excuse to remain ignorant. Omar Epps is great as Upchurch, Dana Delany is great as his mentor and Bentley Mitchum as Ledford does an exceptional job of wrapping up all the different personalities of inmates - Ledford is the nemesis inmate of Carl who has his own awakening. Excellent work also by Sullivan, the director who gave us "how stella got her groove back". If you are interested in a good story, good acting, good directing and a true story... This is a movie for you.

I like Omar Epps, but he isn't that interesting in this movie. This movie is just too slow and the plot is just not entertaining. He gets out of jail, goes back, gets out again. Changes his life and tries to stop gang violence. That's a steep goal for an ex-con.

FINAL VERDICT: Rather boring. Nothing exciting even happens in prison.

"Conviction" tells the success story of the late Carl Upchurch; a black man who was born to the ghetto, became a criminal, and then bootstrapped his way to prominence as a speaker, organizer, author, and activist for black causes. This Showtime production is a journeyman effort which dwells too much on Upchurch's rather ordinary misdeeds and too little on his extraordinary noble deeds. Okay stuff for anyone with an interest in Upchurch. Passable for all others. (C+)

FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Title´s Content and Context...

"I could have easily vanished into the gravitational pull of that South Philly Black Hole...But by consistent hard work...and the grace of God, I broke free!" That's how Carl Upchurch (Omar Epps) sums up his life. I promised a friend BMWTOO I would watch this film and review, giving my very best, 100 % effort...Here it is:

Couldn't help notice one reviewer's comments about how CONVICTION seemed to focus too much on Upchurch's underprivileged upbringing and violently criminal youth and not enough on his accomplishments later in life. Sadly, I feel these reviewers missed the whole point of CONVICTION! To the contrary...I think its greatest strength is how painstakingly the story takes us through Upchurch's step by step, stage by stage metamorphosis from murderous sociopathic small-time hood to national community organizer/leader, who has exerted a positive influence on our entire culture and country!

KUDOS to Epps! What a superb on-screen, slow-burn transition! Remember the scene in Clockwork Orange where Malcolm MacDowell's character is strapped to a chair with his eyes held open by force to make him see images geared to recondition him? Well, if I were dictator, all those who wouldn't watch CONVICTION voluntarily would get that last option! (Remember NOT to vote for ME if I run for office!) Sadly, Wikipedia's information on Upchurch is a scant 20 words and has been poorly entered and linked. (Check it out for yourself) If you GOOGLE his name, you'll find much better source material elsewhere. Does CONVICTION have faults? OK, this is a Showtime production, so you know the drill, right? Even though it does suffer from several Made-4-TV shortcomings, that are par for the course, the true story is profoundly inspirational and merits 5*, but my overall rating is 8.5********