Anne Thompson Says Oscar for Sam Rockwell

One of the most ardent advocates for Conviction has to be Indiewire’s Anne Thompson, who interviews Sam Rockwell, and also interviewed other cast members, like Juliette Lewis and Hilary Swank. Here is what she says about Rockwell:

Finally, Conviction brings Rockwell the role of his career, playing the real-life rebellious, angry, volatile Kenny Waters, who grew up neglected and abused on the wrong side of the tracks and ended up with a murder conviction, in prison for life. His sister, Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank), finished high school, put herself through college and law school, over eighteen years, in order to figure out a way to prove that he was innocent of the crime. Rockwell is able to show us how this guy feels—angry, hopeful, suicidal, never sure if it will work out, hanging on to his sister to find a way out. It’s tough, real, upsetting stuff. The climactic prison scenes had to be shot over again because the grueling 16-hour day’s shoot was ruined by an airport X-ray. But doing it over made it even better, director Tony Goldwyn told me in Toronto. While two-time Oscar winner Swank gives yet another stellar performance, Rockwell, who is an actors’ actor, should finally earn some of the recognition that he deserves.

Living in Cinema‘s Craig Kennedy also went to bat for Rockwell in our podcast series, making a point to note how many times Rockwell has brought it but never seems to get any recognition.