Conviction

A woman whose brother is serving life for murder finishes high school and then law school to reopen his case. It takes eighteen years. The film is not about the courtroom but about the daily weight of those years: two children, a divorce, night classes. The narrative measures justice not by a ruling but by one person spending a whole life on it. Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell lead. It follows the real story of Betty Anne Waters, and the legal project working on DNA evidence enters the narrative too. Worth knowing: the film closes on the release, but Kenny Waters died in an accident six months after walking free. The film does not include this, and not knowing it makes the ending look lighter than it was.