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Sadly Over-hyped

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell are outstanding in this true tale of a sister who puts herself through Law School to overturn the wrongful conviction of her brother. The acting is superb, but it is aided by excellent pacing that is a masterclass in editing. Children grow up, marriages fail, but all these episodes are relayed matter-of-fact, reminding us of the focus and determination of the female lead. Nothing will deter her from her task, and nothing is as important. At one moment one of her sons implies she has wasted her life on a futile task. She is flabbergasted by the comment - it has not occurred to her that her mission could be interpreted this way. When she does get close to revealing the truth, the ugliness of the human actions that created her brother's hell are incredibly difficult to take. Human corruption knows no depth, but then the heights of human determination are also on display here. An incredible story, done justice by a superb production.

I have always admired people who stand for the belief/faith no matter what, although I would probably not fond of being a person very close to them... Even if they are right and the justice is finally served, the time and circumstances around affect them and their relations. One of the examples of the above we can in Conviction where a single (luckily successful) fight against injustice saw several declines and comedowns at a personal and financial level. The characters are well performed (particularly Hilary Swank as Betty Anne Waters and Sam Rockwell as Kenny Waters, Juliette Lewis as Roseanna Perry), but as 18+ years were fit into 1 hour 40 minutes, both the script and the character development were not totally seamless, enabling some aridity and abeyance. Anyway, it is the strongest performance by Rockwell I have seen, and it could have been awarded for at least a major nomination. So I am generally pleased with this movie and have decided to bestow strong 7 points.

"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. She 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.Betty Anne 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.

Hilary Swank is an actress who has the internal strength and the talent to create a type of feminine characters feminist movies can be built around. Following 'Million Dollar Baby' and 'Amelia' now comes 'Conviction'. Again her hero is taking an unusual path, she will go with her feelings and against all odds, fight adversity and fight her condition as a woman to succeed in a career and reach a goal that seems unachievable. The danger is repetition, variants around the same subject and the same type of character are good only when they reinvent themselves and bring new points of view, new angles. This does not happen in 'Conviction' and not even the facts that the story is inspired by reality and the character she plays is taken from true life do not help. Nothing seems too real, the characters develop on expected paths, and the result is a film too long, I wish I had seen the documentary instead. Good acting from Swank and her supporting team does not make this movie take off.