I never quite figured out why I always wanted to seeing this but never actually bought it or whatnot. It was available on Netflix and it was going to expire so I made it a point to give it a viewing. Maybe it was because Hilary Swank never did a bad movie (except New Year’s Eve, but we’ll pretend that never happened due to few cast members). Or maybe its because its based on a true story, which I have no knowledge of before hand. Whatever the reason, I gave it a watch a few days ago.
Let’s check it out!
Director: Tony Goldwyn
Cast: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher, Melissa Leo, Bailee Madison, Ari Graynor
Kenneth Waters (Sam Rockwell) and Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swanks) are brother and sister that love each other and are inseparable as siblings. When Kenneth Waters is arrested by police office Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo) for the murder and sentenced to lifetime in jail, she spends almost the next two decades, sacrificing her marriage and sometimes being a good mother to get her high school degree and proceed to go into law school in order to be the lawyer to overturn her brother’s case. In her heart, she knows he is innocent and her determination along with the help of her best friend, Abra Rice (Minnie Driver) leads her to defeat one challenge at a time.
Honestly, I don’t know what I did of late but the movie gods have been extremely awesome to me. Its been pretty much a streak of pretty decent movies. Conviction is no exception. Just for fun of it, I always go over Rotten Tomatoes quickly before writing these out to see the rating to get an idea and they called it manipulative. I’m still trying to grasp when a movie does that. To me, this wasn’t manipulative but it was pretty real. Obviously, I don’t know the true story so I don’t know how “true” it is in terms of fact but as a movie experience, it was just wow. I was pulled in right from the start and it never really let up.
The story itself is no doubt an amazing and heartfelt one. The hoops that Betty Anne Waters has to go through just based on trust for her brother and the bond they share make this so genuine. I really have to give it to Hilary Swank for another awesome performance but as well as she was as I had expected, the performance that blew me away was Sam Rockwell. I’m a newbie when it comes to Sam Rockwell. Lets just say, I might even do a marathon on the man’s performances. This guy took this role and just ran with it. Although, his character Kenny was in prison more than outside and his only interaction we had was the little bit when he talked to Betty Anne, the emotions he had was just way too compelling. A man that can act out a role with so little room to wiggle in and covered, tough, desperate, happy, sad, hopeless all in the course of about 100 minutes is just a great actor. Something that based on a true story usually is known and we know the ending but with the right performances, it brings out the story so much for effectively. Conviction managed to do that. Aside from them, the supporting roles from Minnie Driver as Betty Anne’s best friend help loosen up the serious mood at times which is usually very much needed in a movie that has such heavy content.
Honestly, I have nothing else to say about it. Conviction is moving and compelling true story that takes you on a courageous and ambitious journey of a sister who will do anything for her brother, and constantly reminds herself and her brother to not give up because they are always getting close and who believes and trusts so much in family and its amazing and tugs on a heartstrings. With the convincing performances of Swank and Rockwell along with great supporting roles, Conviction is a must-see! 🙂
What did you think of Conviction? What are your thoughts on Hilary Swank? What are some of your favorite performances of Rockwell that you’d recommend?
Tranquil Dreams 