Conviction
Who would have thought Tony Goldwyn, the sleazeball bad guy from “Ghost,” could make himself into a smart and engaging filmmaker? I don’t think anyone would have, which makes his 1999 film “A Walk to the Moon,” TV gigs (including “Dexter”), and this distillation of an extraordinary true story all the more surprising.
Hilary Swank delivers another strong performance as a woman whose determination conquers reality. Her name is Betty Anne Waters, and she is driven to great lengths (at great personal sacrifice) to help her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell), who in 1983 was convicted in the murder of a Massachusetts woman. How great? Her marriage dissolves and her children barely see her when she goes to college (and then law school) so she can represent Kenny. Advancements in DNA testing mean there’s a chance, but finding the evidence will take time.
Pamela Gray’s screenplay keeps things simple with the narrative, focusing in on Betty Anne’s drive and Kenny’s pleas that she stop. But the characterizations of the actors are rarely so one-note (only the arresting officer, played by Melissa Leo, seems less defined as a character). Even Betty Anne’s two boys and Kenny’s estranged daughter seem to have more going on than we’d expect in such a film. Most surprising is the character of Abra Rice (played by Minnie Driver), a fellow law student who comes to help Betty Anne in her journey. The movie still hits slow spots and repetition too often; however, Goldwyn, Swank and Rockwell (in one of his best performances) move not only the narrative but the audience.
