Una madre trabajadora se inscribe en la facultad de derecho para representar a su hermano, que ha sido condenado injustamente por asesinato y ha agotado sus posibilidades de apelar su conden... Leer todoUna madre trabajadora se inscribe en la facultad de derecho para representar a su hermano, que ha sido condenado injustamente por asesinato y ha agotado sus posibilidades de apelar su condena mediante abogados de oficio.Una madre trabajadora se inscribe en la facultad de derecho para representar a su hermano, que ha sido condenado injustamente por asesinato y ha agotado sus posibilidades de apelar su condena mediante abogados de oficio.
- Dirección
- Guionista
- Elenco
- Premios
- 9 premios ganados y 10 nominaciones en total
- Law Professor
- (as Thomas Mahard)
- Dirección
- Guionista
- Todo el elenco y el equipo
- Producción, taquilla y más en IMDbPro
Opiniones destacadas
The key in this film is the relationship of Swank and Rockwell. In a pinch they really feel they've got only each other. The film lays that out quite clearly with several flashback episodes showing their childhood and the neglect they had from their mother who was more interested in having a good time. The two kids learned to rely on each other.
Swank has her problems, she gets married and has two sons, and later is divorced from her husband and they share custody of the kids. Rockwell however is in and out of trouble for all kinds of petty crimes. And it's well known he did not get along with the victim. Later he's arrested and released for the murder/robbery and he earns the special interest of arresting officer Melissa Leo. Two years later she arrests him again because of additional evidence. Rockwell is tried and convicted and given a life sentence.
All of which does not faze Swank in the least. Few would do what she did, she put herself through law school just so Rockwell could be her first client. She even gets Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project to aid in her effort, but the leg work she has to do herself. Scheck is played here by Peter Gallagher.
In a year where Melissa Leo won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for The Fighter, she might well have gotten some consideration for her portrayal of Officer Nancy Perry. Quite frankly Rockwell is a complete jerk in this film, especially with his sexist remarks to Leo. But all it does is fuel her desire to see him in jail. Let's say Leo cuts quite a few corners and if it weren't for the new use of DNA evidence, Rockwell would still be in jail. At that it's still a long way from exoneration.
However the best scenes are between Swank and Rockwell. Swank is unshakably convinced of her brother's innocence and goes the extra light year to prove it. The two really do come across as brother and sister.
Conviction is quite the commercial for The Innocence Project and for Barry Scheck's legal talents. But most of all it's a story about family loyalty and blood bonds.
(My Comment) This is a story of what a devoted and inseparable loving sister can do for her brother when he needs her most. Their family bond for each other, while growing up on a farm, is stronger than any prison can break. The movie shows Betty Anne Waters' commitment in freeing her brother as the only thing that will make her life complete. The struggles she endures to become a lawyer, and her willpower to save her brother from any further pain is inspirational. The bond between Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell seems very real, including the steps that she takes as an obsessed lawyer to set him free. Their performances were brilliant, and I believe that both of them will be nominated for an Oscar. This is a movie to see. Footnote: The Innocence Project using DNA matching since 1989 has freed over 254 innocent people from prison in the United States. (Fox Searchlight Pictures, Run Time 1:46, Rated R) (8/10)
Hilary Swank stars in the film so aptly titled Conviction. Here again Swank portrays the real-life Betty Ann Waters. Betty Ann's brother, Kenny was convicted of a violent murder in their home town in Massachusetts and sent to prison in 1983. Betty Ann and Kenny grew up in a dysfunctional home and were tossed around to a plethora of foster homes during their childhood and adolescence. The only family they had was each other. Their relationship was so close and intimate that there was no doubt in her mind that her brother was incapable of murder. Kenny was a self-admitted bad boy. He had been arrested so many times in their small community that when Kenny's neighbor turned up murdered it seemed to be an easy assumption that Kenny was the perpetrator of the crime.
Betty Ann had no money for high-paid lawyers and when Kenny tries to kill himself in prison, she came up with a solution to their problem. She will go to college, then law school and then become a lawyer and find the evidence to set her brother free. This sound like a plot made-up in a studio office, but it is the true story of this amazing woman. And, there would be no movie, if Betty Ann's astounding story didn't have a happy ending.
Telling this story is difficult. But the even script by Pamela Gray provides a good point of departure for Tony Goldwyn's direction and the moving performances by the actors. Without hesitation, Hilary Swank is definitely back, her disappointing performance as Amelia Earhart last year could have ended her trip down the red carpet to win Oscar gold forever. Her performance playing Betty Ann is subtle and convincing. But it's not just Hilary Swank's performance that should be noted. Sam Rockwell's portrayal of Kenny Waters is amazing and heart-wrenching. His scenes in prison are remarkable as he so effortlessly depicts the wide range of emotions from complete hopelessness when years of imprisonment wear on him to utter joy when he learns that his sister has done the impossible. And lastly, Minnie Driver makes a great impression playing Betty Ann's law school friend. It's a role that could garner attention at award time, and hopefully will lead to more roles in the future.
Conviction is one of the best films of the year. Its story of never-ending loyalty and love of a sister. It is inspirational and uplifting. This film will make you believe again, that with desire, perseverance and the conviction to never stop trying, almost anything is possible.
For more reviews and news written by Kay Shackleton, see here: www.examiner.com/movie-awards-in-national
In 1983, Kenny is convicted of the bloody murder of an elderly neighbor largely on the basis of testimony from two former girlfriends, both of whom claimed he confessed his actions to them. Neither Kenny nor Betty Anne can afford a good attorney, so she decides to become a lawyer even though she's a high school dropout. Also serving as one of the film's executive producers, Swank come back securely to the against-all-odds territory of Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) by following Betty Ann's sixteen-year journey from her GED through college, then law school, and finally passing the bar – all while she was raising two boys and working part-time at a local pub. The ending is predictable from a mile away, but the journey is not. The introduction of DNA evidence provides a linchpin that spins the story close to Lifetime-level dramatics, especially when Betty Ann solicits the assistance of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization devoted to overturning wrongful convictions. Gray's screenplay is solid enough, and Goldwyn's direction is assured within the back-and-forth treatment of the timeline.
However, it's really the acting that is aces here. Beyond Swank's sterling work, Sam Rockwell brings an unpredictable furor and a surprising vulnerability to the showier role of Kenny. His rapport with Swank never feels forced, and the devotion of their sibling relationship is what really grounds the threat of hysterics in the film. The periphery is populated by a powerful squad of actresses turning in sharply etched work - Minnie Driver as Betty Ann's law-school friend Abra, whose comic spark highlights how pivotal her character is in representing the audience viewpoint; Melissa Leo ("Frozen River") as the malevolent arresting cop, whose secretive hostility provides the impetus for Kenny's conviction; Juliette Lewis as Kenny's dentally-challenged ex-girlfriend with a drunken confession scene that reveals the actress's long-forgotten raw talent below her usual giddiness; Karen Young in a brief scene as the unforgivable Mrs. Waters; and Ari Graynor ("Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist") as Kenny's embittered grown daughter. It's the cast's cumulative work that makes this movie intensely watchable.
¿Sabías que…?
- TriviaBetty Waters says "The movie is so true to life. Not every scene happened, but every emotion happened."
- ErroresAt one point Betty Anne Waters Hilary Swank tells Kenny Sam Rockwell that it's a good thing Massachusetts doesn't have the death penalty or he could already be dead. This however is incorrect. Massachusetts still had the death penalty in 1983, when Kenny was convicted. It was abolished the following year in 1984.
- Citas
Betty Anne Waters: You are innocent!
Kenny Waters: Are you sure about that?
Betty Anne Waters: [crying] How can you ask me that? How can you ask me that?
- Bandas sonorasWhiskey in the Jar
Public Domain
Performed by Chris Hewitt and David Bagnall
Selecciones populares
- How long is Conviction?Con tecnología de Alexa
Detalles
- Fecha de lanzamiento
- Países de origen
- Idioma
- También se conoce como
- Hermanos por siempre
- Locaciones de filmación
- Productoras
- Ver más créditos de la compañía en IMDbPro
Taquilla
- Presupuesto
- USD 12,500,000 (estimado)
- Total en EE. UU. y Canadá
- USD 6,783,129
- Fin de semana de estreno en EE. UU. y Canadá
- USD 102,351
- 17 oct 2010
- Total a nivel mundial
- USD 11,104,555
- Tiempo de ejecución1 hora 47 minutos
- Color
- Mezcla de sonido
- Relación de aspecto
- 1.85 : 1