Lacking conviction

CONVICTION is a hard film to love.
The true story is compelling but the film does not generate any emotional connection to the characters.
Conviction tells the story of Betty-Anne Walters (Hilary Swank), a single mother who puts herself through law school, solely to prove her brother, Kenny Walters (Sam Rockwell) innocent of murder.
Kenny is serving life in prison for a murder his sister is convinced he didn’t commit and she puts her life on hold to get his conviction overturned.
Even though it is a true story and the ending is no secret, there were still occasions when my heart dropped in my chest and I thought he might be guilty after all.
But those few occasions were the only thing that kept me watching.
The problem with Conviction is that it glosses over the emotional sacrifices and financial impact on Betty-Anne and her two sons.
Her marriage breaks down in less than five years. But in the film, her husband is just not there one day and how she manages to pay for law school while providing for her sons is left largely untold.
And there were many more questions left unanswered.
It meant I felt little connection to Betty-Anne’s plight.
The film offers plenty of flashbacks to illustrate the bond between Betty-Anne and Kenny but if some of that time was dedicated to the emotional and financial impact on her small family, it may have been a more intriguing film.
Conviction is adequate in telling the story of Betty-Anne and Kenny Walters but I still left the cinema wondering how she managed to do it.
– Nicole Williams