I’ve been meaning to write about “Conviction” since I saw it last week and just haven’t really settled on a way to gather my thoughts. In a nutshell, I liked it. Quite a lot, actually. It’s not rousing or inspiring to the point that I had to write immediately (obviously), but it’s relatively harmless and generally quite agreeable.
That sounds like damning with faint praise I imagine but I was kind of a mess watching it. All the emotional beats hit me just right. I’ll admit I got a bit teary-eyed at the sustained chemistry between Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, who portray loving siblings with a level of authenticity and complexity that’s difficult to pinpoint. The script never feels manipulative even though its painting in extremely familiar dramatic strokes.
Rockwell has received most of the praise so far and he deserves it. Interestingly enough, though, he doesn’t bring anything more than he has for the last 10 or 15 years in film after film. He’s always good for better than solid and here he’s just finally getting his due. He’s one of a precious few actors who sells it perfectly each and every time out. You just buy him in whatever the role.