Conviction is an American legal drama (based on a true story) which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010. It is about a case of wrongful conviction.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Directed by Tony Goldwyn
** Written by Pamela Gray
** Released on DVD in May 2011
** Run time: 107 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Hillary Swank as Betty Anne Waters
** Sam Rockwell as her brother Kenny Waters
** Minnie Driver as her friend Abra Rice
** Ari Graynor as Mandy Marsh (Kenny’s daughter)
** Clea DuVall as Brenda Marsh (Kenny’s ex-wife)
** Juliette Lewis as Roseanna Perry (Kenny’s ex-girlfriend)
** Melissa Leo as Nancy Taylor (a policewoman)
** Peter Gallagher as Barry Scheck (a lawyer, co-founder of The Innocence Project)
[I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. Therefore I am not going to reveal too much about what happens in this movie, but I have to mention a few details in order to explain my rating. Besides, all facts mentioned here are part of the public record, and therefore they can hardly be described as spoilers.]
PART ONE
This film is the story of Kenny Waters, who was arrested and charged with murder in 1983. He was found guilty in a court of law and sentenced to life in prison.
It is also the story of his sister Betty Anne Waters, who believed her brother was innocent. She devoted many years of her life to prove that this conviction was wrong. She put herself through law school to become a lawyer and take up his case.
In 2001, when she was able to prove his innocence, he was finally released from prison, having served 18 years for a crime he did not commit.
The Kenny Waters that we see in this movie is not exactly a likeable person. He has been in trouble with the law many times. But Kenny and his sister Betty Anne are very close.
When the police arrest him for a murder that was committed in 1980, she is convinced that he is innocent. And when he is sentenced to life in prison, she insists that this conviction is wrong. The case becomes an obsession to her. So much that most people around her are asking her to let it go and accept that this case is lost. But she refuses to give up.
In this movie, we see:
** How she tries to work on the case.
** How she meets with her brother and tries
to give him hope.
** How she works with Abra Rice, her friend from law school, who
believes her.
** How she contacts The Innocence Project (co-founded by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck), an independent legal organisation which uses DNA evidence to prove that some convictions are wrong.
As stated above, this movie is based on a true story, and as far as I know, all major points in the movie are historically correct.
As noted on the IMDb website, there is an anachronism in one scene: when Betty Anne visits her brother in prison, there is a glimpse of a soda can on the table between them. The logo on the soda can was introduced in 2005, but the scene in the prison takes place before his release in 2001, so the soda can from 2005 or later is an anachronism.
Historical truth is violated here, but this flaw must be described as minor.
If this is the worst flaw that can be found in this movie, then I think it is safe to say it must be a good movie.
PART TWO
Even before we begin watching this movie, we know how it is going to end, because it is based on a true story. While the ending is predictable, we cannot complain about this. The very fact that Betty Anne was able to prove that her brother had been wrongfully convicted, the very fact that he was released from prison after serving many years for a crime he did not commit, is the reason why this movie was made.
The ending is predictable: of course! But even though we know how it is going to end, the movie still manages to capture our attention, because we need to discover just how many legal and practical obstacles Betty Anne was up against.
The system made a mistake with Kenny. But the system does not want to admit that it has done something wrong, so even when it is clear that this is a case of wrongful conviction, the system still tries to defend itself; still tries to find a way to justify what happened.
The closer Betty Anne gets to the end, the more impatient she becomes, and we can understand why.
The closer Kenny gets to the end, the more desperate he becomes, because he is afraid that his release will somehow be denied by the system, and again we can understand why.
[The word “conviction” has more than one meaning:
(1) Kenny was sentenced to life in prison. He got a “conviction.”
(2) His sister Betty Anne was convinced that he was innocent. She had a “conviction.”
The title of the movie can be understood in more than one way. Clearly, the movie-makers chose this word on purpose. It has a double meaning: it refers to Kenny and his sentence, which was wrong. It also refers to Betty Anne and her belief in her brother’s innocence, which was right.]
PART THREE
What do reviewers say about this legal drama? Here are the results of three review aggregators:
61 per cent = Meta
67 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes
72 per cent = IMDb
The famous movie critic Roger Ebert (1942-2013) offers 3 of 4 stars, which corresponds to 75 per cent.
On Amazon UK there are at the moment more than 200 ratings of this product. More than 80 per cent of them offer four or five stars. The average rating is 4.4 stars.
Only a few reviewers go all the way to the bottom and offer only one or two stars. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them.
The script is well written – keeping all major points historically correct – and the actors play their roles well. In my opinion, the reviewers who offer only one or two stars are too harsh and not fair at all.
CONCLUSION
Kenny Waters was a victim of a wrongful conviction. Betty Anne Waters was able to prove this, but only because she was stubborn; only because she refused to give up, when most people around her told her to let it go. The Innocence Project (co-founded by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck) offered her significant assistance during the final months of the struggle.
The story of Kenny Waters is important; it deserves to be told and in this legal drama it is told very well.
If you are interested in the question of human rights - in particular the question of wrongful convictions - then this movie is definitely something for you.
PS # 1. The following interview with the real Betty Anne Waters is available online: Decca Aitkenhead, “Betty Anne Waters: ‘We thought Kenny was coming home’,” The Guardian, 11 December 2010.
PS # 2. For more details about the case, visit the website “National Registry of Exonerations,” established by the University of Michigan Law School as well as the website of the Innocence Project.
PS # 3. For more information about the Innocence Project, see the following book: Actual Innocence: When Justice goes Wrong and How to make it Right by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld and Jim Dwyer (2000, 2003).
*****
*****
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