Acting is definitely not the issue with the terrifically acted ‘Conviction.’ And neither is this unbelievable true life story. In fact, any novel can only hope to have all the twists and turns of this real life story.
The person who seems most unreal in this story is its remarkable protagonist, the very real Betty Ann Waters. If we could all at least have one friend like her…we would be set for life. This lady deserves the Sister of the Century award.
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In 1983, her trouble-making brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of diner waitress Katharina Brow. Betty Ann (Hilary Swank) never believed her brother was guilty and in an act of unwavering faith and devotion, the unemployed, high school dropout, single mother of two decided that if she could not afford a lawyer she would then become one.
No problem here, just a few stops along the way: a GED, attending and graduating from college, getting in and attending and graduating from law school, divorcing her husband and passing the bar along the way. Betty Ann has more determination in her little pinky than many us would can muster in a lifetime.
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I remember reading this story in the newspapers in the spring of 2001, when Kenny was finally freed and like most people, I figured it would be a matter of time before I caught the Hollywood version in the local cinema.
Even with a strong story such as this one, Director Tony Goldwyn efforts to make this movie exciting seem to have been left off screen. The movie does come alive when the always surprising Rockwell is on screen. He manages a complex character such as Kenny with equal degrees of charisma and intimidation.
He is the lion that you would love to pet, but dare not for all the right reasons. Swank, a talent with few peers, does what she does best, and breathes as much life as she can into a dull script while giving a hell of a performance in the process.
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Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo (criminally underused here) and Peter Gallagher all give very strong support and Juliette Lewis almost steals the whole movie in just two scenes that provide the only comic relief in this 111 minute journey.
There is an expression in Spanish that goes a bit like this: I did not swim this far to die on the shore. And I felt exactly that way when I realized that a very real, sad and poignant truth was left out of Conviction: Kenny died in a freak accident only 6 months after being released from jail.
According to the filmmakers, they wanted the movie to be about Betty Ann and the loving relationship she shared with her brother and including the death would have been too much of a let down… Well, I’m not sure that ignorance is bliss in this case and once you find the truth…you may feel a tinge of deception…
Directed by: Tony Goldwyn
Duration: 1 hour and 51 minutes
Rating: R
