Film Review: Conviction

Conviction. Rated M (mature themes, violence and coarse language). 124 minutes. Directed by Tony Goldwyn. Screenplay by Pamela Gray.

Defined by Julia Roberts’ Oscar-winning turn in the title role of the feisty heroine in Erin Brockovich (2000), the genre of films about determined, single-minded (and absolutely unstoppable) women taking on ‘the system’ to ensure justice is done can make for powerful and engrossing cinematic storytelling. Sally Field, too, romped home to Oscar glory with her star turn as unionist Norma Rae (1979), while Meryl Streep and Cher’s performances in Silkwood (1983) are right up there amongst the best of their respective careers.

In Conviction, Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don’t Cry) takes on the role of Betty Anne Waters who, in 1983, took on the legal system to prove that her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) was innocent of a murder he had spent 18 years in prison for apparently committing.

There are lots of fascinating aspects to this true story, and it is a real shame that none of them are explored in this film. If, for example, Kenny didn’t murder Katharina Brow, then who did? And what does local cop Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo) have to hide? Instead, what we get is an incredibly ordinary ‘by-the-numbers’ telling of a fairly predictable story that, peculiarly given the talent involved, ends up feeling like a second-rate telemovie or a really long episode of CSI-Somewhere.

Swank (channelling Ms Roberts) and Rockwell (channelling Al Pacino) are, as one might imagine, perfectly fine in the lead roles, while Leo (who won this year’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in The Fighter) works wonders with the little she gets to do. Minnie Driver has a little too much fun with her annoying, pop-up best friend ‘Abra Rice’, while Juliette Lewis sails right over the top in her cameo as one of Kenny’s ex-girlfriends.

No-one is helped by Adriano Goldman’s (City of Men) mood-less cinematography or Goldwyn’s lack of directorial ambition for Ms Gray’s (Music of the Heart) drama-free screenplay. Given the extraordinary lengths that Ms Waters went to in order to prove her brother’s innocence, one might have imagined there could have been an interesting film to come out of it all. Regrettably, that’s not the case.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.