Third Oscar for Hilary Swank?
Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank may be back for more accolades -- this time with "Conviction," which is based on a real story and released right in the middle of movie-awards season.
CBSNews.com's Ken Lombardi spoke with Swank -- who nabbed Best Actress Academy Awards for roles in "Boy's Don't Cry" and "Million-Dollar Baby" -- during a special screening for the film hosted by the New York Film Society.
When asked if she was aiming for a third Oscar, Swank gushed that, "The idea of even having an Academy Award [is] something I'm really grateful for and quite in awe of and humbled by. I just tell stories that challenge me as an actor and as a human being, and ['Conviction'] was certainly that challenge."
Swank portrays Betty-Anne Waters, an unemployed single mother with just a GED, who spent 18 years earning a law degree to defend her brother, who was wrongly convicted of murder. The real life Betty-Anne Waters was also in attendance at the screening. Her brother Kenneth, portrayed in the film by Sam Rockwell, died in 2001 under tragic circumstances.
Moviegoers may not see "Conviction" as a conventional Hollywood tearjerker, given its look at justice in America. With a supporting role in the film, Juliette Lewis said, "It's a movie that matters. It has a lot of heart. It's a true story. It shines a light on the faults in the justice system a bit. And it really reminds us to love and love some more."
Rockwell also weighed in. "To be in prison when you're innocent is completely different than when you're guilty," said Rockwell. "And to keep that kind of hope...it's almost a kind of torture to keep those ups and downs."
Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck also spoke about the importance of the story, which unfolds all too often. Scheck noted that, "['Conviction'] is really helpful because I think it hits people in the heart, and then you can reach their head."
While audiences may be drawn to the film by Swank's performance, the filmmakers hope that viewers will be stunned and even alter their personal convictions about those who are actually innocent or guilty.
