CONVICTION

CAROLINE: Conviction is a new movie from actor/director Tony Goldwyn, who we recently saw on Broadway in Promises, Promises.

RYAN: I love him!

CAROLINE: This movie is based on an amazing true story. Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell play brother and sister, and they both give great performances.

RYAN: I was really looking forward to this movie because of the cast and the fact that it’s based on real life, plus all the legal stuff. It almost seemed Erin Brockovich-ish in a way. I wasn’t terribly disappointed by it, but it does have much more of an indie feel.

CAROLINE: I loved this movie. It’s definitely not as glossy as Erin Brockovich, but I liked that about it. I was completely taken with the performances and I totally wept. Hilary Swank, as we know, makes a good movie every five years, and this is her offering for 2010. I was expecting her to be great, and she is; but Sam Rockwell truly blew me away.

RYAN: I think he’s on the level of Edward Norton in this movie. He’s so committed to the character, which isn’t all that different from Edward Norton’s in Stone, actually. But I thought Hilary was equally fabulous. I like her in everything she does, even the movies where she’s miscast.

CAROLINE: She and Sam both do great Boston accents. It was not at all painful to listen to as it sometimes can be when an actor does a new accent. There’s also a trio of Oscar nominees in supporting roles – Juliette Lewis, Melissa Leo and Minnie Driver.

RYAN: We need to break them down individually. I feel like Melissa Leo is so underrated.

CAROLINE: I loved Juliette Lewis. She’s been popping up in a lot of movies lately in smaller roles, and I love seeing her every time. She kind of deserves more, but maybe she’s found her niche as a character actress.

RYAN: She is amazing in this movie. She went so above and beyond to create a character for what really isn’t that large a role.

CAROLINE: And Minnie Driver was great too. I don’t know why she got the shaft after Good Will Hunting, because she totally holds her own.

RYAN: I’ve always liked her too and have never understood why she’s so underrated. The only thing she’s done that threw me was playing Carlotta in the movie version of Phantom of the Opera where someone had to dub in her singing voice. That made no sense.

CAROLINE: By now, we’ve all seen a lot about the story behind Conviction – it’s been on the Today Show and all over the news and the internet. Basically the brother is sent to jail on a murder charge, and his sister spends 18 years getting a G.E.D., a B.A. and then a law degree just to act as his lawyer and get him out of jail since she believes he was wrongly convicted. She sacrifices her whole life for him, and it’s an incredible story. It will totally move you, even if you know how it turns out in the end. I was riveted from start to finish.

RYAN: You totally feel every emotion that Hilary Swank’s character goes through. I love it when a movie transports me like that. And I loved her makeover moment when Minnie Driver gets her to look like a real lawyer.

CAROLINE: It’s such a great story, and knowing that it all really happened just makes it that much more fun to watch. Even though we’ve all seen lots of “based on a true story” movies before and you might think it’s cheesy, I’d encourage one and all to see this movie. It’s not at all preachy or treacly.

— BOTTOM LINE —

RYAN: It’s a well made movie coming out at the right time of year. I can definitely see Oscar nominations happening in the acting categories.

CAROLINE: I’d love to see Sam Rockwell get nominated for this. I think he’s proven himself by this point. I really loved this movie; it moved me and I’m happy that this story is being given the big screen treatment. It’s so worthy.

— RATING —