Betty Anne Waters (two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank from “Amelia,” “Million Dollar Baby” and “Boys Don’t Cry”) is sure that her brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell from “Iron Man 2” and “Matchstick Men”) didn’t commit the murder and armed robbery that has landed him in prison for life. She is determined to set him free.

Betty sacrifices her marriage and relinquishes custody of her two boys to pursue an education, eventually getting a law degree.

She becomes best friends with Abra Rice (Minnie Driver from “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Ella Enchanted”), a classmate.

Betty becomes Kenny’s lawyer of record, and after a diligent search for the evidence from the original 1983 trial, she uses DNA testing as grounds for exculpation.

This could prove Kenny’s innocence if his blood doesn’t match that of the criminal perpetrator.

Barry Scheck (Peter Gallagher from “American Beauty”), the famous lawyer from O.J. Simpson’s defense team, gets involved as legal consultant in this apparent travesty of justice.

The acting performances of Swank and Rockwell elevate the material above a conventional biopic. The under-appreciated Rockwell has flown under the thespian radar. His character is cracking jokes one minute and displaying a quick temper leading to a bar fight the next. You feel his anger, rebelliousness and volatility while hoping for the best. He deserves award consideration in the best supporting actor category.

Swank gives another stellar turn as the anchor holding this production together. Driver heads the list of supporting players that round out the rough edges. They include Melissa Leo (“Frozen River”) as the local cop that arrests Kenny; Juliette Lewis (“Cape Fear” and “Natural Born Killers”), as Kenny’s troubled alcoholic girlfriend; Clea DuVall as Kenny’s estranged wife; and Ari Graynor as Kenny’s grown-up daughter.

The movie suffers from sloppy screenwriting by Pamela Gray (“A Walk on the Moon” and “Music of the Heart”) and poor execution from director Tony Goldwyn (“A Walk on the Moon,” “The Last Kiss” and “Someone Like You…”). The movie skips around a lot, going back and forth in time. The scattershot, non-linear approach offers only glimpses of Betty and Kenny’s childhood where they form a lasting familial bond. Further bits and pieces are shown of Betty’s domestic situation with limited interaction between her husband and two sons.

The storytelling seems rushed to get to the crux of the matter and the editing process appears to be designed to fit the material into a compressed running time of less than two hours.

Although as a courtroom drama/legal procedural it never reaches the lofty heights of “Erin Brockovich,” it still is superior to a prime-time television movie of the week.

Now playing exclusively at the Rio, AMC Studio 30 and Cinemark Palace on the Plaza.

Review By:
Keith Cohen "The Movie Guy"