Conviction

Theatrical Release Date: 2010 10 15 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 024543715009

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Profanity]

Summary: As children, Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) and her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), survived bad parenting and poverty by leaning on each other for support. Kenny grows up to be something of a troublemaker, eventually being convicted for a murder he swears he didn't commit. His sister believes him and, without even a high-school diploma, sets about going to law school in order to figure out a way to free him. She gets a GED, then graduates law school with the help of her only friend (Minnie Driver). She eventually gets the attention of O.J. Simpson defense attorney Barry Scheck (Peter Gallagher), who runs an organization devoted to overturning wrongful convictions by analyzing DNA evidence with tests that were unavailable at the time the cases were tried. When he agrees to help her -- if she can find the old blood evidence -- Betty plows her way through the legal complications that stand between her brother and his freedom. Tony Goldwyn directs this drama inspired by a true story. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Freedom of Expression Award – National Board of Review Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Film Presented – London Film Festival

Features: A conversation with director Tony Goldwyn and Betty Anne Waters

Conviction

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 02/01/2011

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Perry Seibert

Movies often celebrate perseverance. We love underdogs, and unlikely heroes who pull themselves up by their bootstraps, enduring any number of roadblocks on the way to achieving a goal. Tony Goldwyn's Conviction -- the main character's unflagging determination is built right into the title -- is all about this trait. As children, Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) and her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), survived bad parenting and poverty by leaning on each other for support. Kenny grows up to be something of a troublemaker, eventually being convicted for a murder he swears he didn't commit. His sister believes him and, without even a high-school diploma, sets about going to law school in order to figure out a way to free him. She gets a GED, then graduates law school with the help of her only friend (Minnie Driver). She eventually gets the attention of O.J. Simpson defense attorney Barry Scheck (Peter Gallagher), who runs an organization devoted to overturning wrongful convictions by analyzing DNA evidence with tests that were unavailable at the time the cases were tried. When he agrees to help her -- if she can find the old blood evidence -- Betty plows her way through the legal complications that stand between her brother and his freedom. On the page, Pamela Gray's script hits every familiar note to make Betty's life as difficult as possible. The problem is that while Betty's life is flawed, she herself is flawless. If we are supposed to emulate her courage, there need to be some scenes showing she's a flawed human being. As played by Swank, Betty is a classic teary but strong-willed heroine, not unlike those at the center of a Lifetime movie -- her seemingly inexhaustible capacity for selflessness defines her. The character's situation is interesting, but the character isn't because we can't relate to her. Luckily, Sam Rockwell gives the movie some drive as her ne'er-do-well brother. He's a hard-drinking rabble-rouser, prone to bar fights and getting naked in public for a laugh. Rockwell lets us see the effects of Kenny's dysfunctional childhood in the character's impulsivity and occasional fatalism. We're fairly sure we can believe Kenny most of the time, but we're never really 100 percent sure like Betty is, and that friction gives the movie some life. The filmmakers were smart to let a good chunk of the film's emotional payoff come from scenes where Kenny makes peace with the teenage daughter who was just an infant when he went to jail, because their relationship is more complex and compelling than the always-perfect bond between Kenny and Betty. If there were more of Rockwell, Conviction might be able to escape the straightforward obviousness that keeps it from being little more than a well-made but not very interesting TV movie. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Tony Goldwyn  Director 
Tony Goldwyn  Producer 
Andrew S. Karsch  Producer 
Pamela Gray  Screenwriter 
Hilary Swank  Executive Producer 
Andrew Sugerman  Producer 
Alwyn Hight Kushner  Executive Producer 
Markus Barmettler  Executive Producer 
Paul Cantalon  Composer (Music Score) 
Hilary Swank  Actor 
Sam Rockwell  Actor 
Minnie Driver  Actor 
Melissa Leo  Actor 
Peter Gallagher  Actor 
Ari Graynor  Actor 
Loren Dean  Actor 
Conor Donovan  Actor 
Owen Campbell  Actor 
Tobias Campbell  Actor 
Bailee Madison  Actor 
Clea Duvall  Actor 
Karen Young  Actor 
Talia Balsam  Actor 
John Pyper-Ferguson  Actor 
Juliette Lewis  Actor 
Thomas Mahard  Actor 
Laurie Brown  Actor 
Ele Bardha  Actor 
Rusty Mewha  Actor 
Marc Macaulay  Actor 
Frank Zieger  Actor 
J. David Moeller  Actor 
Scott Philyaw  Actor 
Tobiasz Daszkiewicz  Actor 
Iris Ingram  Actor 
John Lepard  Actor 
Jake Andolina  Actor 
Wallace Bridges  Actor 
Marty Bufalini  Actor 
Doug Hamilton  Actor 
Sarab Kamoo  Actor 
Hugh McGuire  Actor 
Michele Messmer  Actor 
Annabel Armour  Actor 
Toya Brazell  Actor 
Heather Kozlakowski  Actor 
Matthew Hollerbach  Actor 
Zack Fealk  Actor 
Linda Hurd  Actor 
Michael Liu  Actor 
Paul Burt  Actor 
York Griffith  Actor 
Gordon Michaels  Actor 
Alana Jo Beckman  Actor 
Ethan Cutkowsky  Actor 
Eddie Hurch  Actor 
Jane Alderman  Actor 
Janet Ulrich Brooks  Actor 
Gary Davis  Actor 
Rick LeFevour  Actor 
Jennifer Roberts  Actor 
Linda Boston  Actor 
Kam Carman  Actor 
Julio Ho  Actor 
Peter Carey  Actor 
Melissa Bickerton  Actor 

Country: USA