Currys Fire Side Fiction. My favourite film and book in 2014
This post is an entry into Currys Fire Side Fiction Competition.
My Favourite Film
My favourite film that I’ve watched this year has to be Conviction. Without a doubt I have to say that this is one of my all time favourite films!
Based on a true story, Betty Anne Waters, puts herself through law school so that she can represent her brother, Kenneth, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder.
This film really brought out a range of emotions in me. From anger at the justice system to compassion for both Betty and her brother Kenneth for being in the awful situation they found themselves to be in.
I kept imaging myself in Betty’s shoes and wondering what I would have done if I had been in her position. Would I have been able to do what this remarkable women did?
Kenneth had basically exhausted all of his chances to appeal his conviction through public defenders leaving to Betty as his last chance.
Kenneth was sentenced to life in prison in 1983. In 1986 Betty returned to school in a desperate bid to prove her brothers innocence. Betty earned three degrees, whilst raising her children and working in a bar to fund her education. Shortly after becoming a lawyer she found the biological evidence she needed to prove her brothers innocence.
Betty put herself through 12 years of schooling to help free her brother, Kenneth. By the time he was released he’d already spent 17 years in prison.
Can you imagine that?
Spending 17 years in prison for a crime you didn’t commit? It must have been truly frustrating and emotional, not to mention stressful and upsetting for both Kenneth and his family.
Sadly Kenneth died six months after his release, but his sister Betty now works with the Innocence Project, whom she turned to for help in her fight for her brothers freedom to help others in the same situation she once found herself in.
Hilary Swank played Betty in this film and although I haven’t seen her in many films, I have to say that she was outstanding! She portrayed Betty’s range of emotions perfectly throughout the film and was very convincing.
My favourite book
Sadly I haven’t had the chance to read as many books as I would have liked to this year, but in my second blog I explain that one of my goals in 2015 is to read one book a month.
One book that I did manage to read in full this year was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It’s a popular book that’s well written and it really drags you. I found the book hard to put down, with each chapter making me want to read the next!
It’s a heartbreaking story of an unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant.
Set in war-torn Afghanistan this books tells the story of family, love and friendship.
It’s both emotional and innocent as we follow Amirs return to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s orphaned child.
Full of suspense and heart warming drama, this is my favourite book of 2014!
