Conviction is the inspirational true story of a sister's unwavering devotion to her brother. When Betty Anne Waters' (Hilary Swank) older brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice (Minnie Driver), Betty Anne pours through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo), meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny's arrest. Belief in her brother - and her quest for the truth - pushes Betty Anne and her team to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.Don't get me wrong. This is a great movie and an even greater story. The performances were great across the board. Unfortunately, I just felt that this was one of those movies that was blatantly going for the heartstrings instead of really making you connect with the characters. I also never thought I would complain about something like this, but the movie at just under 2 hours was actually too short. It felt as if they flew through the 18 year journey too fast.
Even with the knocks against the movie, I wouldn't tell people to refrain from seeing it. Its still a good watch. I just felt like they could have made the movie better instead of trying to make the audience cry.
