Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank is back in awards territory with her latest film Conviction. Steve Pratt discovers the truth behind yet another gritty role.

ACTOR Sam Rockwell describes double Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a “special woman” – and one of the few who could, or would, have taken on the role of Betty Anne Waters in new film Conviction.

She was an unemployed mother-of-two who devoted 18 years of her life putting herself through college and law school in order to get her brother Kenny freed from prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

Swank’s powerful performance certainly met with the approval of the woman she was playing. “Seeing Hilary play me, I felt like it was really me. Call it therapy, if you will, but I couldn’t stop crying,” she says, sitting next to Swank at a press call during the 54th BFI London Film Festival in October.

Swank sidesteps the praise from Betty Anne and Rockwell.

“Ultimately you’re only as good as the people around you and they raised my bar,” she says.

Conviction follows Academy Award best actress wins for Boys Don’t Cry, playing transgendered teen Brandon Teena, and Million Dollar Baby, in which Clint Eastwood directed her as a female boxer.

She plays Betty Ann, with Sam Rockwell as brother Kenny, who was sentenced to life without parole for the fatal stabbing of a waitress.

With Betty Anne pursuing the truth, along with help from the Innocence Project organisation and fresh forensic evidence, he was finally freed in 2001.

“I’ve always been drawn to true stories because life is stranger than fiction, and this story amazed, moved and inspired me. This was such a beautiful love story between a brother and a sister, one that was so compelling,”

says Swank.

She admires Betty Anne’s outlook on life.

“She’s my real life hero for being so selfless and having such a big heart for another human being. It was an honour and I feel really grateful for opportunity of collaborating on her story,” enthuses the actress.

“If I don’t do justice to this story, I don’t think I could live with myself. To let Betty Anne, Kenny and their family down would be the biggest regret of my life. I wouldn’t be able to live with that.”

She acknowledges that a lot of responsiblity comes with playing a real person. “I would have hated to be part of telling this story that when Betty Anne and her family saw it, looked at it and thought, ‘what were you thinking?’ That would be a disaster for me.

“Having Betty Anne around – she’s not intimidating in any way, just selfless and wears her heart on her sleeve – was actually very helpful. She was never there to point a finger or anything. If we had any questions she would fill in the blanks.”

She didn’t want to meet Betty Anne right away because she didn’t want to be mimicking her. Not physically at least, but wanted to understand the heart of the person – what gave her the drive and determination, the great tenacity to go against such odds.

“So for eight weeks I had audio tapes of Betty Anne talking. I just listened to these tapes every day and to the emotion between the lines of what she was saying, what moved her, what angered her,” recalls Swank.

“Then Sam came on board, four weeks before filming and had a crash course in getting into character. He wanted to meet Betty Anne and the family straight away. I said I’d join him because it was a great opportunity for us to bond.

So we spent the weekend with her. She’s so gracious and phenomenal.”

And later, when filming began, Betty Anne joined them on set.

Swank had the challenge of adopting a Massachusetts accent. “I’m not very good at getting an accent right away. It takes me a long time, especially this Massachusetts accent because it was very specific.

She must have got it right as Betty Anne recalls that on three different occasions people thought she was talking and it was actually Hilary.

One person points out in the film that if Massachusetts had had the death penalty, Kenny would have been executed.

“I know we have a very flawed judicial system in the United States and, knowing an innocent man was executed, I don’t believe in the death penalty,” says Swank.

“I believe that there are other people as we speak in prison wrongfully accused who could have served such a fate and I think that is injustice at its greatest,” she says.

As well as pointing out the injustice in the system, Swank believes Conviction has another message. “The act of selflessness that Betty Anne carried out and in her heart is something that’s a great reminder of what’s important in life – to be there for your family and loved one.

“In these days right now when people are losing their jobs, losing their homes, you realise that the only thing you have to rely on is your family, it’s the only thing you really have.

“A lot of people say to Betty Anne ‘you gave up your life for this’ and she’ll say I don’t see it as giving up my life, it became a part of my life and I just did what anyone would do.

“That speaks volumes about her, she believes everyone would do this. To get the opportunity and challenge to play someone like this leaves me a better person. I will keep Betty Anne and her brother Kenny forever in my heart.”

■ Conviction (15) is now showing in cinemas