For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Conviction
The Impression:
Another sappy bio-pic Hilary Swank is lobbing towards the
Academy hoping to haul herself back in to the good graces of
films like Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby.
The Reality:
Hilary Swank is in a dangerous place right now in terms of
her film career. She’s pushing the Sally Field line, only
starring in earnest films about strong female characters who
broke the system in one way or another. And honestly, her
plain looks and ability to take on the appearance and
accents of the Midwest allows her the ability to easily be a
part of these films. But as she continues to do so, she
limits her ability to be seen as anything else.
Conviction, isn’t a terrible film, it just isn’t a
great film. It’s a rehashing of true story that found Betty
Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) spending near 18 years of her
life becoming a lawyer so she could bust her falsely accused
brother (Sam Rockwell) out of the clink. Where the film
falters though is that it spends too long on her quest to
discover the evidence that might release her brother. It’s a
dreadfully boring and uneventful search and takes away from
the true feat at hand: that a woman in Massachusetts with
out even a high school GED, managed to become a lawyer and
actually free her brother. The film does make some attempt
at showcasing the sacrifice Waters made to free her brother
but again this detracts from the film’s ending. The only way
this film could’ve worked was if Waters failed. I don’t care
to see a film about sacrifice with redemption, it’s a story
told a million times. Instead this film is scuttled because
it’s a true story and we know from the start the conclusion,
and it’s not the right conclusion in terms of this film’s
narrative arc. Instead we’re spoon fed the same cloying
bullshit every blue-collared bio-pic always does and if
don’t gag, you’re a duller man than me.
One plus? Juliette Lewis and Minnie Driver both show up in
fine form. If Lewis, playing a snaggle-toothed ex-lover of
Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell) doesn’t get an Oscar nod, this
film was a waste.
The Lesson:
Hilary Swank needs a new agent.
Noah Sanders is the blog/news editor at Light In The
Attic and a contributor at Sound On The Sound and
the KEXP blog. He also has his own
Criterion-based film site, Criterion Quest.
If you'd like to contact Noah in regards to his
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Noah Sanders
-
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