Yes
"Conviction" is a Hollywood version of a true story and it manipulates
the audience but the bottom line is that it is a good film. Sam
Rockwell, as Kenny Waters, has been arrested and convicted of murder,
now serving a life sentence. Hillary Swank, playing Betty Ann Waters,
his sister, who believes in his innocence and spends the next 18 years
trying to prove it. In flashbacks the director, Tony Goldwyn, shows
Betty and Kenny, as children, played by Tobias Campbell and Bailee
Madison, shows the strong bond they developed which allows one to
believe the elder Betty's fight for her brother's freedom.
We
see Betty get her GED, go to law school and, like a pit bull, search
through evidence and being so obsessed with her brother's case she loses
her husband and though her children love her they feel it is better to
live with their father. At the same time we see Kenny in prison and get
the feeling he could have committed the murder.
Minnie
Driver plays Abra Rice, a law student who becomes friends, and an ally,
with Betty, while Peter Gallagher is a lawyer, Barry Schenk, who
specializes in DNA cases which was fairly new during the time, 1980s to
mid 1990s, the film takes place. Kenny's ex-wife, Brenda, played by Clea
DuVall, and an ex-lover of his, Roseanna Perry, played by Juliette
Lewis, testify against him while the arresting officer, played by
Melissa Leo, seems to be determined to bring him down. Ari Graynor plays
the daughter he left behind and now doesn't know or want to know him.
The
whole cast, especially Hillary Swank and Sam Rockwell, are their
characters and though the screenplay by Pamela Gray may manipulate the
audiences tear ducts this is a moving, directly told story that holds
your interest.
The bottom line is that this is one of the better pictures of 2010.