Conviction (6/10): An inspirational tale about the devotion a sister has for her brother

“I'm sorry you wasted your life on this. Your brother killed that woman.”

Inspired by a remarkable true story in which a sister practically gives up almost two decades of her life in order to save her brother who has been convicted of murder and has been sentenced to life in prison. It’s an amazing and inspirational story, but unfortunately the film suffers from being overly manipulative at times and too conventional. Conviction has Oscar bait written all over it, and despite having a heavy clichéd script the excellent cast elevate the film and make it worth recommending. Many people remember Tony Goldwyn from his villainous role in Ghost, but he has also directed a couple of rom-coms. This is the first time he directs a fully dramatic film and it suffers from being overly sentimental at times (the score is way too melodramatic). 

The film is saved however by its excellent cast. Hillary Swank is amazing as this working mother who decides to put her personal aspirations aside to help save her imprisoned brother. In order to do so she decides to finish High School and go through law school. Not an easy task considering Betty Anne has two children to maintain. Sam Rockwell plays Betty’s brother, Kenny, who was arrested in 1983 for a brutal murder. Betty and Kenny had been very close since they were young because their mother was constantly working so we get several flashbacks of them spending their childhood days breaking into nearby homes and dreaming of a better life. This always got Kenny into trouble with the local authorities. Years later, when a woman was found brutally murdered in a trailer near to Kenny’s place he was the first suspect. After some incriminating evidence against him he is sentenced and that is when her loving sister decides to dedicate her life to free him. The degree of devotion she has for her brother is unprecedented and truly inspirational.

The question one asks throughout the film is how far Betty is willing to go to help her brother considering it has led her to lose her husband and any attempt to have a life of her own. It has even affected her relationship with her two children, played by Owen Campbell and Conor Donovan, who feel neglected at times. There isn’t one second in which she questions what she is doing and takes it more as a responsibility and a debt she has for her brother. Swank gives a powerful performance and her devotion to Kenny is completely believable. Rockwell is also great as Kenny in both the prison scenes and in some of the flashback scenes where we see some of his wild behavior. He plays his character extremely well, up to the point where you are never really sure wether or not this guy is guilty for the crime he has committed. The only person who seems convinced about his innocence is his sister and that made the film all the more compelling. 

Minnie Driver plays Abra Rice, one of the law students who befriends Betty and helps her on the case. Her relationship with Betty could’ve been explored a bit better, but the entire focus of the film was on Betty’s devotion and effort to try to free her brother so she is only introduced as this friend who helped with the case. The family dynamics between Betty and her children and between her and her ex husband is barely touched upon because the filmmaker’s devotion was focused on the relationship between the two siblings. It didn’t hurt that they were played by Rockwell and Swank, two extremely talented actors. I’m a huge fan of Sam Rockwell and I could personally watch anything he does so I might be a bit biased but their relationship in this film is what sold this movie. Melissa Leo has some small scenes in the film, but her presence is always welcomed. The film has its flaws and at times the pacing of the film does begin to drag and feel repetitive, but the performances more than make up for it at the end.   

My Favorite Collection: Good Will Hunting (10/10)

“I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you.”

The scene where Robin Williams’ Sean Maguire sits on a park bench with Matt Damon’s Will Hunting to have their little shrink session about life, love, and identity is perhaps my favorite cinematic moment ever. More than a conversation, it is a monologue that Robin Williams delivers with incredible passion and it gives me goosebumps every time I watch this scene. It’s the reason why he won an Academy Award for best supporting actor and why the film works as well as it does. This is just one fantastic moment, but I can think of many more scenes that left me completely in love with the movie. Like the scene where Sean Maguire and Stellan Skarsgard’s Prof. Lambeau have their long awaited discussion about ego and missed opportunities (“You think I'm a failure. I know who I am, and I'm proud of what I do. I was a conscientious choice, I didn't ef up! And you and your cronies think I'm some sort of pity case. You and your kiss-ass chorus following you around going, "The Fields Medal! The Fields Medal!" Why are you still so efin' afraid of failure?”), the scene where Sean narrates Game 6 of the World Series to Will, which he passed on for the opportunity to meet his future wife (I just slid my ticket across the table, and I said, "Sorry, guys; I gotta see about a girl.”), and of course the final scene between Will And Sean which I don’t want to spoil. There are just so many great moments in this film thanks to the strong performances and the amazing screenplay from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck which is one of my favorites. Even the scenes between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and between Damon and Minnie Driver are incredible and I still have to leave them out of my top five favorite scenes in this movie because there are just so many. And I even left out Will’s amazing monologue about why he shouldn’t work for the N.S.A. It’s simply one of the best written movies ever and it has Robin Williams best performance (that is saying a lot considering how much I loved his work in Dead Poet’s Society, Good Morning Vietnam, and The Fisher King).            

“You're not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you've met, she's not perfect either. But the question is whether or not you're perfect for each other.” 

I don’t know if Good Will Hunting is a perfect film, but I know it is perfect for me and for that reason it will always be included as one of my all time favorite films up there with The Sixth Sense and The Dark Knight. I have plenty of other favorites which I sometimes include in my top ten, but those three are always at the very top of my list, and I don’t even worry about having to discuss it with anyone else.

Beyond the Lights (7/10): A character driven romantic film that is rare to find these days.

“Do you want to be a runner up, or do you want to be a winner?”

Fifteen minutes into Beyond the Lights and I was about to dismiss Gina Prince-Bythewood’s film as yet another formulaic celebrity romance trying to be this generation’s The Bodyguard. But after the story and the characters were introduced, I realized there was much more to the simple premise. This is a character driven film and despite the familiar premise the movie is carried by the wonderful performances from the cast and their well written characters. Gina uses a familiar tale but manages to give each character their very own identity and that takes the story to unfamiliar dramatic territory avoiding the common cliches found in modern romance movies. Bythewood made an impact in 2000 with her feature film debut, Love & Basketball and she followed the success of that movie with The Secret Life of Bees. Beyond the Lights is her third feature film, and it made such an impact on me that I want to see her two previous movies now. It’s not easy to find intelligent romantic films nowadays with strong performances, so that makes me appreciate Beyond the Lights all that more for avoiding cheap cliches and deciding to focus on the characters and giving them depth instead of simply trying to deliver cheesy lines and force romantic moments. Every character in this film could’ve very easily played a stereotype, but Gina avoids it by giving each one of them their own moment.

Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is a young and talented British R&B singer who is on the verge of becoming an international super star thanks to her collaborations with rapper Kid Culprit (Machine Gun Kelly) with whom she shares a relationship with. On the night in which they win an important music award for their hit single, Noni tries to commit suicide by jumping off from the hotel balcony, but she’s saved by the police officer who was guarding her room. Kaz (Nate Parker) is an honest cop who is trying to make a difference in his community and is aspiring to be a politician by following the advice of his father, Captain Nicol (Danny Glover), a well respected man in the police force. After the balcony incident Noni’s mother and agent, Macy Jean (Minnie Driver) downplays the suicide attempt by telling the media that her daughter was simply drunk and therefore almost fell over the balcony. Kaz isn’t happy about having to lie to the media, but he is more concerned about Noni not trying to get help because it is evident that the pressure has gotten to her, and her mother isn’t helping by downplaying the issue. He gets close to Noni, and it is evident that the two have chemistry, but she doesn’t seem like a good fit for his political aspirations given the latest scandals she’s been in and the sexy image she’s selling. At the same time he realizes that this isn’t who she really is and that her mother and recording label producers are simply creating her image and not allowing her to have her own voice. When he discovers who she truly is, the two become romantically involved and the plot takes off from there. 

Minnie Driver’s character could have easily been one dimensional playing this mean and controlling mom/manager, but Gina avoids those stereotypes and gives her more room to work with despite how easy it is to dislike her for turning her daughter into this sex symbol product. This is just one example of how Gina decides to direct this character driven film giving each one a voice of their own. Another director perhaps wouldn’t of included those small moments or conversations where we get a sense of why the character behaves in such a way. 

Nate Parker delivers a solid lead performance as this credible and likable young man who is trying to  make a difference in his community, but it’s Gugu who steals every scene she’s in. At first she seems to be playing a similar character to Rihanna, but once she finds her own voice her character goes through an impressive transformation. She gives an explosive and emotional performance and wins everyone over with her wonderful voice. There is a scene where she sings a cappella in an outdoor bar in Mexico that is breathtaking and gripping at the same time. My only complaint is that the film does lose some of its steam towards the end of the movie, but the time spent with each one of these characters still made this a very enjoyable experience.