Conviction

Two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank oozes earnestness in this biopic about Betty Anne Waters, a Massachusetts high school dropout who put herself through college and law school to exonerate her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell), wrongly imprisoned for murder. As the story begins, the siblings break into a neighbor's home, which will later become the scene of a brutal killing. After Kenny's ex-girlfriends (Clea DuVall and Juliette Lewis) offer incriminating evidence, police officer Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo) helps send Kenny to prison for life. Vowing to prove her brother's innocence, Betty Anne obsessively—over a period of 18 years—unearths missing evidence and demands DNA tests, aided by law school classmate Abra Rice (Minnie Driver) and attorney Barry Scheck (Peter Gallagher), who may be trying to atone for having defended O.J. Simpson. Swank convincingly returns to the hardscrabble environs of Boys Don't Cry, but Rockwell, Lewis, and Driver deliver the most memorable performances. Unfortunately, director Tony Goldwyn's Conviction only skims the dramatic surface of Waters' devotion, sacrifice, and achievement—choosing instead to weigh down the narrative with sentimental childhood flashbacks of the siblings, two of nine children sired by seven different fathers. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a conversation with director Tony Goldwyn and the real-life Betty Anne Waters (10 min.). Bottom line: a small extras package for a tepid biopic.] (S. Granger)