Conviction

(Synopsis) Conviction is based on an inspiring true story of Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank), a high school dropout who over 18-years put herself through law school to represent and hopefully overturn her innocent brother's, Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell), murder conviction. Betty Anne is a working mother of two boys who believes that her brother was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a 1980 bloody murder of a woman living in a trailer next door to him in Ayer, Massachusetts. Kenny's ability to appeal his conviction using public defenders has been exhausted and without a lawyer, he will die in prison. That is when Betty Anne decides to dedicate her life to save her brother. With a newly earned law degree in hand, she hopes to exonerate her brother with new evidence and the new science of DNA.

(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)

After making decidedly wrong turns into rom-com in 2007's "P.S. I Love You" and historical biopic in 2009's "Amelia", Hilary Swank is back in her element as Betty Ann Waters, a working-class single mother of two whose fierce loyalty to her troublemaking brother Kenny knows no bounds, in actor/director Tony Goldwyn's time-spanning, fact-based 2010 drama. Written by Pamela Gray (she and Goldwyn also collaborated on 1999's affecting "A Walk on the Moon"), the inspiring, potentially melodramatic plot line often borders on incredulity, but Swank's trademark iron-jawed tenacity is on full display here. At the same time, it's a primarily economic performance teetering on lunacy as her character is tightly bound to Kenny since they shared a painful childhood due to the neglect of a horrifying mother.

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.

"Conviction" stars Hillary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo, Peter Gallagher, and Juliette Lewis in the true-life story of Betty Anne Waters, who becomes an attorney in order to free her brother Kenny of a wrongful murder conviction.

I saw Betty Anne profiled some time ago -- back then, I think she was still in law school.

Kenny Waters is convicted of the murder of Katharina Brow (since she was German, I assume the original last name was Brau) who was viciously knifed in her home. The crime occurred in 1980, when there was no DNA testing, and Kenny had the same blood type as the perpetrator. Several witnesses, including Kenny's wife and ex-girlfriend, testify against him.

Betty Anne, a mother with two children, makes the decision to go to law school in order to free her brother. At that time, she doesn't even have her GED.

Betty Anne comes up against wall after wall, gets divorced, and her children, probably more to help her than anything else, finally go to live with their father. She moonlights running a bar.

She contacts Barry Scheck (Gallagher) of the Innocence Project to enlist his group's help. Scheck needs evidence -- by then, it's been about 15 years since Kenny's conviction.

This is a powerful story because it shows, again, what the determination of one person can achieve, and how his or her passion can inspire others to help.

Hillary Swank is a gifted actress, and it's a shame that she hasn't gotten more roles like she had in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby. She's natural but intense as Betty Anne, and she can really pull at the heartstrings.

Sam Rockwell as Kenny does a wonderful job, and the two have great chemistry together. You could feel his hopelessness, and his fear of being let down.

Everyone is good in this film, with Juliette Lewis as an ex-girlfriend and Melissa Leo as policewoman Nancy Taylor standouts.

The problem I have with this film is that, strip the movie of Hillary Swank and you've got a Lifetime movie. It just doesn't come off like a feature film in the way the story is told or in its focus. It's just a little bit left of cloying. Also, note to writers -- Kenny wasn't in jail, he was in prison. There's a difference.

Despite this, it's a wonderful story, all the more dramatic because it's true. And you can't get enough of its message: One person can make a difference.

"Conviction" is a simple, dramatic story, told well. Betty Anne (Hilary Swank) puts herself through law school for the sole effort of freeing her innocent brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) from a life-sentence in prison for murder. Swank and Rockwell both carry this emotional film on their very strong shoulders.

There are very few courtroom scenes, very few law school scenes, but it is filled with emotional connections between brother and sister as she visits him in prison, and as she tries living her own life. The characters dominate the beginning of the film, and the steps Swank has to take to free Rockwell keeps the film going towards the end.

It is shot well, as this is clearly Massachusetts and it set the right feelings for the film without overpowering it. The highlights are Swank and Rockwell as they both play characters with elements that we have seen before that have given Swank Oscar wins and have given Rockwell popularity. Here, he has toned down his comic antics just enough for his performance to remain popular but should also give him his first Oscar nomination.

The story may be missing a few elements that would have given it more substance to make it more interesting, but it seems to me, that's because the film-makers had a few restrictions in keeping to the true story. This may actually be a true story and not just based on one.

I recommend "Conviction" for its emotional performances and for telling its simple story well.

In Ayer, Massachusetts, the siblings Betty Anne and Kenneth 'Kenny' Waters are very close to each other and they are neglected by their single mother and prostitute Elizabeth Waters (Karen Young).

In their come of age, Kenny (Sam Rockwell) is a troublemaker with a baby daughter hated by the local police department and Betty Anne (Hilary Swank) gets married and has two sons. When their neighbor is stabbed to death, the police officer Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo) that has hatred for Kenny, arrests him and he is sent to court for trial.

Kenny and Betty Anne can not afford to hire a lawyer and Kenny is defended by a public defender. He is sentenced to life without probation, based on the evidence of his blood type and the testimony of his girlfriends Brenda Marsh (Clea DuVall) and Roseanna Perry (Juliette Lewis).

When Kenny tries to commit suicide in prison, his sister tells him that she will complete her elementary school and high-school to go to law school to reopen his case and overturn his sentence.

"Conviction" is the best courtroom drama of the Twentieth-First Century. The inspiring story of a waitress that decides to study to become a lawyer to defend her beloved and innocent brother that was sentenced to life without probation and release him after twenty years is one of the most beautiful examples of dedication, determination, devotion and fraternal love.

The top-notch performances of Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell and Juliette Lewis deserved nomination to the Oscar. The tragic and ironic fate of Kenny six months after his freedom is not mentioned in the film that stops the journey of the Waters family in the best moments of their lives. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "A Condenação" ("The Conviction")