The true legal saga of Betty Anne Waters, a Massachusetts woman who put herself through law school so she could find a way to get her brother out of jail, would seem to be an absolutely sure-fire movie property.
And yet “Conviction” doesn’t quite close the case, despite some strong performances and a great deal of sincerity all the way around. You can be awed by the story, but not by the movie.
Hilary Swank adds another indomitable performance to her career; in fact, one almost wants to see her play a weak-willed airhead, just to mix it up a little. As Betty Anne Waters, she navigates a series of obstacles that stand between her humble origins and the possibility of mastering the legal ins-and-outs of her brother’s case.
The brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), has been convicted of murder. The evidence is sketchy and Kenny, not a Boy Scout by anybody’s standards, may have antagonized the local police.
Whatever the facts, everybody’s content to hang the crime on Kenny and leave it at that. Except Betty Anne, of course, who isn’t short on faith or loyalty (flashbacks show the rough childhood in foster care that drew the siblings together).
Director Tony Goldwyn (“A Walk on the Moon”) opts for a jumbled way into the story, which blunts some of the power of Betty Anne’s rise through the ranks. Eventually we get there, but it would be nice to have more information about what we’re watching — we know very little about the murder or why Kenny is a suspect or how it is he got convicted.
And the fact that DNA testing comes along when it does somewhat derails the empowering tale of a woman’s will. Not that it lessens the achievement of the real Betty Anne Waters, but, in storytelling terms, it’s a bit of a curveball.
Goldwyn, an actor himself, has cast the roles well. Juliette Lewis and Clea DuVall are electric in small roles, Minnie Driver supplies spirit as Betty Anne’s law-school classmate, and Peter Gallagher does his slightly oily thing as famous lawyer Barry Scheck.
If anybody comes out smelling like a rose, it’s Sam Rockwell, who will probably get some awards notice for his performance as the loose-cannon Kenny. Of course, Rockwell’s been doing terrific work for years now, from his daffy game-show host in “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” to his lonely astronaut in “Moon.”
If playing in a respectable movie like this finally brings him some mainstream acclaim, so be it. But as usual with such things, it comes for a performance that isn’t even his best work.
As for the real Kenny, his eventual fate is left unmentioned. Apparently it’s a twist of fate that didn’t quite fit in with the movie’s inspirational goal.
“Conviction” ½
The true story of a woman who put herself through law school to spring her brother, convicted of murder, from prison. Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell give their all to this somewhat jumbled tale, but the film falls a little short of its inspirational goals.
Rated: R for violence, language
Showing: Pacific Place, Seven Gables
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