Conviction

Movie: Conviction

Cast: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell

Genre: drama, thriller

I saw it on: October 23, 2010

Synopsis: This is a true story.  Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell) is a tough-guy who gets into trouble a lot.  He is wrongly convicted of a brutal murder and sent to prison. His sister, Betty Anne Water (Hilary Swank) is unwavering in her belief in her brothers innocence.  She devotes her life to getting him out of prison.  She eventually gets a law degree to aid in her pursuit.  Eventually she starts finding mistakes and outright fabrications in the evidence.  Ultimately, she gets Project Innocence involved – a group that specializes in using DNA evidence to overturn convictions.

Even when she has proof of her brothers innocence, she has to battle the establishment to get anyone to care.

My two cents: A great movie.  I would not be surprised to see Hilary Swank getting another Oscan nomination.  It was appalling to see how reluctant some prosecutors are to look at DNA evidence simply because they don’t want the embarrassment of one of their convictions overturned.  This case had so many things wrong with it, it was very satisfying to see it finally get resolved.  During the credits you see what really happened to the actual people involved.

A must-see movie.