Conviction

Last night I watched the DVD of the movie, Conviction. Here’s the blurb, taken from the Netflix site:

Convinced that her brother, Kenneth (Sam Rockwell), has been unjustly convicted of murder and incompetently defended by court-ordered attorneys, high school dropout Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) puts herself through law school in order to represent him in his appeal. Inspired by a true story, director Tony Goldwyn’s stirring drama also stars Melissa Leo, Minnie Driver, Peter Gallagher and Clea DuVall.

The film is based on a true story, and it is a powerful one. Some moments of the story pierced my heart. I got a lump in my throat as tears welled in my eyes at the end. I wasn’t anticipating being as affected as I was by the film.

As one might expect in a film about prison and poverty, there is some coarse language; the R rating is for language and some violent images. Still, I do recommend it. It can’t help but make you ponder the implications of wrong convictions and the death penalty. There is also much to consider about family and love and even when commitment to one person or goal makes one sacrifice in other vital relationships. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking I wish I could do some things differently in my relationships over the years.

Have you seen Conviction? What did you think?

~robin