Conviction: Blu Ray review
Conviction
Rating: M
Released by 20th Century Fox
Hilary Swank stars as Betty Ann Waters in this film which is based
on a true story.
Waters is a drop out who's formed a close bond with her brother
Kenny (the ever great Sam Rockwell) as they've been shunted from
foster home to foster home in their childhoods.
But when Kenny's arrested for murder by Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo)-
and convicted two years after the crime's been committed- Betty Ann
feels her life ripped from her
So, she resolves to put herself through law school with the sole
aim of doing whatever it takes to exonerate her brother.
Conviction works okay as a TV movie, rather than a big screen
outing.
All involved give great performances and it seems unfair to
diminish the true story nature of this, but the problem is the film
offers nothing new or original to many other similar stories of
their ilk.
Granted, it's made perfectly adequately and sees the main duo of
Swank and Rockwell acquit themselves decently - but the emotional
core of the film appears to have gone AWOL from script to
screen.
The moments where you'd expect your heart to leap are curiously
flat and presented in a very matter of fact way; and some of the
most potentially engaging drama (Waters' marriage falling apart
being one) takes place off screen, robbing you of any real
involvement. That and the fact that it's not explored that this
woman's spent her entire life trying to save her brother and it's
cost her everything and you just feel nothing but detachment from
what transpires in front of you.
Extras: Conversation with the director and Betty Anne Waters offers
a little insight.
Rating: 4/10
