Yes, No, Maybe So: Conviction (née Betty Anne Waters)

First things first, changing your movie title from something very specific like Betty Anne Waters to something as generic as Conviction is not a good sign. Searching for Conviction on IMDb will get you several films, theatrical/dvd/made-for-TV. Searching for Betty Anne Waters gets you just one. Are they scared of people thinking "ewww, it's a girl's movie!" or maybe "Is this a sequel to Amelia? That sucked" or what?

But here's the trailer.

So here's where we break it down.

Yes, no, or maybe so?

The supporting cast is jam-packed with good actors: Melissa Leo - sure okay; Sam Rockwell - yes, please; Minnie Driver -why the hell not?!; Juliette Lewis -Yes, please x 10. And wherever I can get her which isn't on silver screens that much. I had all but forgotten that she had a role in this film. I never knew, even before the forgetting, that it would a real role, and not some throwaway part. But she's even name-checked in the trailer and with her Academy Award Nominee status no less. Yay and also Wow because that doesn't happen much. With all of these good actors on board, maybe they'll all escape the typical "I'm poor! Listen to my weird townie/rural accent!" actor's trap. An accent is not a character.

You're
smart.
You'll
know
that I
don't have
to explain
myself here.
Kapeesh?

I don't think there's enough films made about brothers & sisters and their unique bonds. I really don't. Usually if you see a film about siblings it's almost always brothers with a random sister act hitting us now and then. I'm always curious to see if actors can pull off a familial bond. Most of the time this game of pretend is no more than adequate but when something really clicks between two actors in terms of family chemistry, it can be truly potent stuff. I'm hoping Swank and Sam pull it off since the whole film will kind of depend on it.

I suppose I'm a "maybe so" based solely on Juliette Lewis and Oscar interest. But I'll be an immediate "no" with mediocre reviews. I really can't be bothered with courtroom dramas unless the reviews are strong. I personally think it's the genre that's most "dead" onscreen. As in, why is someone making this movie? They'd better have a damn good reason and explain it with some cinematic zing! But every once in awhile there's a great one (see Erin Brockovich)

This is neither here nor there but the film is directed by Tony Goldwyn, grandson of legendary studio mogul Samuel Goldwyn. You might not know Tony's name but you surely know his face. He's that vaguely eyebrow-less guy who Hollywood always wants you to loathe and also loathe yourself for loving because he's super attractive.


Hey, it's a niche. An actor's gotta work.

But is it really fair to hate on him for killing his best friend to get into Demi Moore's pants? Because who wouldn't have offed their buddy for Demi circa 1990? I mean, cut a guy some slack. It's Demi.

Goldwyn A.D./B.D
before and after psychoanalyzing one Dexter Morgan

I've been watching Dexter lately on Netflix Instant Watch (that obsession has cooled a bit). Goldwin directs multiple episodes and in one he even directs himself as a psychiatrist who kills off powerful women after reducing them to hot messes with a lethal combo of bad therapy and drugs. [Why are psychiatrist always evil in movies? Discuss.] Naturally, Dexter cuts him up into little itty bits.

Goldwyn previously directed the critically well received A Walk in the Moon (1999) but, alas, Conviction (née Betty Anne Waters) doesn't star Diane Lane and Viggo Mortensen.

Are you a yes, no or maybe so?
*
Hilary Swank