Arts & Entertainment

Conviction


As children, Betty Anne Waters and her brother, Kenny, survived bad parenting and poverty by leaning on each other for support. Kenny grows up to be something of a troublemaker, eventually being convicted for a murder he swears he didn’t commit. His sister believes him and, without even a high-school diploma, sets about going to law school in order to figure out a way to free him. She gets a GED, then graduates law school with the help of her only friend. She eventually gets the attention of O.J. Simpson defense attorney Barry Scheck, who runs an organization devoted to overturning wrongful convictions by analyzing DNA evidence with tests that were unavailable at the time the cases were tried. When he agrees to help her — if she can find the old blood evidence — Betty plows her way through the legal complications that stand between her brother and his freedom. This drama is inspired by a true story. Director: Tony Goldwyn. Cast: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo, Peter Gallagher. Rated: R. Time: 1:47.