It’s completely understandable that this film will get compared to 2000 release Erin Brockovich; after all both are based on true events featuring strong, working class women who take on the US justice system. But when it comes down to it, who would win in Brockovich Vs Waters?

The one person who’s always been there for Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) is her brother Kenneth (Sam Rockwell). Unlike many siblings, they’ve managed to keep that tight bond they had in childhood intact as adults.

Although Kenny is often the life and soul of the party, he also manages to get into trouble a lot. He gets into serious hot water though when he’s arrested for the murder of a young woman. The accusation actually disappears for a few years, but then out of the blue new evidence pops up and Kenny is charged and sentenced to life in prison.

Betty believes in her brother’s innocence, but is in no real position to help him. Despite only having a basic education, she decides that if no one else can prove he’s innocent, she will. She then begins the very long process of becoming a lawyer, just so she can re-open her brother’s case. But it’s not long before she realizes that the US legal system truly is a law unto itself.

Evian, Volvic, Naya, Spa, Buxton, Highland Spring... They're just pouring out all over the place!

So there you have it, another truly remarkable story of an uneducated woman taking on the law. And yet despite its parallels with Steven Soderburgh’s Erin Brockovich, what’s even more evident is its obvious difference in class, as Conviction isn’t quite in the same league.

That’s not to take anything away from its solid cast; Swank and Rockwell clearly gives it their all, as do a fine supporting cast that includes Minnie Driver, Juliette Lewis and Melissa Yeo. But under not-so-close examination, it’s obviously let down by some mediocre direction.

For Tony Goldwyn, who started out with a steady acting career, this is only his fourth directing gig in eleven years. And it shows. Even with some great talent on board, the film never feels like anything other than a made-for-TV film. Considering how advanced TV dramas are these days, that’s not necessarily the barbed slur it was once considered, and yet Conviction does little to prove otherwise.

Goldwyn never quite manages to give the same kind of weight to the film that the premise for it has; someone is likely to be far more impressed by this story if simply told it verbally, rather than to sit down and watch it.

He’s by no means made a bad film, far from it, but considering the price of cinema admissions these days, it’s probably best to wait to watch it on Five on a rainy Sunday afternoon.