Conviction - DVD Review

'note Swank's reaction during a turning point of her relationship with her boys. Blink and you'll miss it. In any other film there would be tears in the rain and an extended scene of overflowing parental guilt'

Unfairly maligned because of its similarity to the films that have gone before it in the 'country girl/boy does well' sub-genre (that's sub to the equally unfairly maligned parent category of Uplifting Drama), Conviction has nothing about it to overtly criticise apart from a whole heap of optimism and positivity. The fact that the perception of the film is that it under-whelmed audiences and disappointed at awards season (in fact, the film has an above-seven rating on IMDB and featured at several of the minor awards ceremonies) says a whole load about what we think these days of any film where the synopsis lacks the word 'dark', or the critiques the word 'edgy'.

Taken on its own merits, rather than those of its forebearers - most obvious of which, because of the legal link, is The Hurricane - Conviction plys a pleasant line in avoiding melodrama, although early segments which deal with young Kenny (Tobias Campbell) and young Betty-Anne (Bailee Madison) do tread fairly close to it. At under two hours, its not like director Tony Goldwyn has dragged the film out by developing the brother/sister bond from an early age, but it is as close as the film gets to being an uncomfortable love-in.

Of a much more interesting track are older Kenny (Sam Rockwell) and older Betty-Anne (Hilary Swank). The two leads bring much-needed Hollywood class and although Swank's accented tick (she sounds like JFK, to put it bluntly) might distract initially, both deliver powerful portrayals, which feel multi-layered, relateable and honest. That Rockwell appears to give up what must be close to 100lbs to the real-life Kenny and that Swank appears a good deal younger than the real-world Mary-Anne, can be put down to Hollywood age-washing, forgivable when the performances it results in are this good to watch.

As is often the case with successful depictions of what could have been over-ripe material, the things that Goldwyn leaves out are as important as that which he includes. There's no shouty courtroom scenes, for example, where one could imagine Betty-Anne shouting 'the system stinks' and such other platitudes at a stony-faced judge. Equally, the break down in her relationship with husband Rick (Loren Dean) is handled with subtlety and realism, and the decision to switch the focus on to sons Ben (Owen Campbell) and Richard (Conor Donovan) is a masterstroke. In a similar vein, note Swank's reaction during a turning point of her relationship with the boys. Blink and you'll miss it. In any other film there would be tears in the rain and an extended scene of overflowing parental guilt.

Guilty of heartfelt brotherly/sisterly love? Maybe. But that doesn't immediately make Conviction worth ignoring, especially given the strong showings from the two leads.

Look further...

'interesting, but the audience will feel every minute of its hour and forty-seven minute run time' - The Great Movie Project