Conviction
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: October 15, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreOct 27, 2010
The magic in the film is in the actors. Only somebody who has stripped himself emotionally bare for the camera could achieve the level of performance that Goldwyn gets from every single SAG member on this set. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 21, 2010
This is an inspirational true story worried less about turning dramatic screws than earning its feeling through character. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia PuigOct 21, 2010
Emerges as a potent inspirational story on the strength of its two lead performances. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumOct 21, 2010
The ever-magnetic Sam Rockwell is Kenny, Minnie Driver is full of beans as Betty Anne's best friend, Melissa Leo is wicked good as an ornery cop, and, in her two chewy scenes, Juliette Lewis reminds fans why we want her to run free forever. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondOct 21, 2010
A stirring, unforgettable motion picture experience, a superbly acted and courageous story of one woman who made a difference. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterRay BennettOct 21, 2010
The film is in the tradition of fighting-the-system stories drawn from real life such as "Erin Brokovich," and its powerful emotional appeal should draw a substantial grownup audience. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsOct 22, 2010
The story is sustained by the stubborn love between the siblings and by the conviction of the two fine actors who portray them. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 21, 2010
It's an amazing story, one that would seem too far-fetched if it weren't true. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedOct 21, 2010
Filled with nuance, intricate emotion and a refreshing absence of melodramatics, Conviction is a moving exploration of light and love shining through the darkness of despair. Its impact cannot easily be shaken. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaOct 21, 2010
It's a noble enterprise, and a remarkable story, but it's not a movie that will set you free. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 21, 2010
There is one aspect of Conviction that is a real cheat. No mention is made that Kenny, six months after his release from prison, accidentally fell and fatally fractured his skull. Did the filmmakers think that our knowing this would wreck a happy ending? For a film that prides itself on its realism, this omission is unspeakably wimpy. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 21, 2010
In Hilary Swank, the film finds the right actress to embody gritty tenacity. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 21, 2010
Swank and Rockwell, both typically great in almost everything they do, act as if their lives depended on it - their lives, not their characters'. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesOct 21, 2010
Sam Rockwell plays the brother, and in his handful of scenes he skillfully tracks the character's slow decay from cocky loudmouth to thoroughly beaten man; Swank, delivering her usual spunky turn, suffers badly by comparison. Read full review
70
TimeMary PolsOct 21, 2010
What takes Conviction out of the "Erin Brockovich" inspirational orbit - and gives it fresh interest - is the fact that Betty Anne is never portrayed as a fish suddenly taking brilliantly to judicial waters. Instead of being a legal savant, she's a persistent lunatic tilting at windmills for the sake of a familial love no one else can quite understand. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallOct 27, 2010
Imagination is the key element that Conviction lacks. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisOct 21, 2010
What Conviction lacks in characterization (the people here are monochromes - bright ones, but monochromes nonetheless) it makes up for with personality. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 21, 2010
Sam Rockwell has yet to find a movie as good as he is (Moon comes closest). He's still looking. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 21, 2010
The strongest, most consistent performance is provided by Sam Rockwell, who displays a wide and convincing range of emotions. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 21, 2010
Based on a true story, the movie's best scenes involve its heroine breaking down barriers by force of will as much as by legal wrangling. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 21, 2010
Some of the movie's most stirring scenes take place during Betty Anne's prison visits, when the laughter has stopped and her innocent brother contemplates his shattered life. Read full review
60
MovielineMichelle OrangeOct 21, 2010
The story is so bounteous that Goldwyn can't quite get a grip on it. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayOct 21, 2010
Conviction is like "Erin Brockovich" meets "Rudy." Read full review
50
NPRScott TobiasOct 21, 2010
What's really missing from Conviction are the thorny questions it refuses to take up with any depth. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyOct 21, 2010
The film falls short of delivering the outrage and uplift that should have come easy for this true-life fight against justice denied. Unfortunately, that makes Conviction more a trial than a triumph. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin ChangOct 21, 2010
Although fiercely committed performances by Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell provide director Tony Goldwyn's film with a core of emotional integrity, a less heavy-handed, more informative approach would have served them and the audience better. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonOct 21, 2010
In all fairness, Swank's unsubtle performance is often an extension of the bluntly dumb lines she and other cast members must deliver. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottOct 21, 2010
It would be easy to dismiss Conviction on the ground that it plays like a made-for-television movie, but the truth is that, as often as not, movies made for the small screen are better than this: braver, darker, more willing to explore odd corners of feeling. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirOct 21, 2010
Ultimately, though, it's a little schizo, like a depressed dude in a clown suit, or a Theodore Dreiser novel hopped up on not enough happy pills. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenOct 21, 2010
A story based on exceptional facts gets converted into an unexceptional movie. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickOct 21, 2010
Really belongs on Lifetime rather than in theaters. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichOct 21, 2010
For those of us with a love of actorly indulgence, though, the film is a treasure trove, filled with enough molten-gold performances to gild a thousand Oscars. Read full review
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