Conviction
This week sees Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell join forces for their new movie Conviction, which tells the true story of Betty Anne Waters and her struggle to get justice for her brother.
When Betty Anne Waters' (Swank) older brother Kenny (Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction.
Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny.
So to celebrate the release of the movie FemaleFirst takes a look at some of cinemas best prison movies.
The Shawshank Redemption
Of course one of the most famous behind bars movies has to The Shawshank Redemption, a film that was perhaps not as celebrated when it was released as it should have been.
Despite the high esteem in which this film is held the Stephen King adaptation flopped at the box office but has, over the years, become a film phenomenon through word of mouth.
The movie follows Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, who is wrongfully imprisoned for two decades for the murder of his wife and her lover.
Darabont's film about one man's fight for freedom has become one of the greatest films in cinema history as it went on to receive seven Oscar awards, including Best Picture and is still hailed by audiences and critics today.
Tim Robbins seems to have a thing about prison movies as it's Dead Man Walking, which saw the actor move behind the camera, up next.
Dead Man Walking
Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) is on death row after being convicted of raping and brutally murdering a young couple.
He writes to Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon) for help, asking her to visit him in prison. She agrees to act as his spiritual adviser and begins to spend time each day with him.
The film is a fascinating and powerful drama explores the relationship between this condemned young convict and the nun who counsels him in the days leading up to his execution.
Only one film before Dead Man Walking, A Short Film About Killing by Krzysztof Kieslowski, and almost none since have tackled the issue of capital punishment so well.
Robbins doesn't give the audience an answer of whether capital punishment is the answer, despite Helen Prejean being against it, leaving the audience to decide for themselves.
It's one of those very rare films that leaves an audience with issues and beliefs to discuss between themselves and question what they believe and why.
The Green Mile
Director Frank Darabont and writer Stephen King get a second entry with 1999 release The Green Mile, which starred Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan.
The film follows Paul Edgecomb, a corrections officer on Death Row, who's world, and those of the officers that work with him, is turned upside down by the arrival of John Coffey, a man convicted, but not guilty of murder.
The Green Mile is just one of those movies that grabs hold of you emotionally and I defy you not to cry at the ending everytime that you watch it.
Darabont is one of very few directors that seems to be able to successfully adapt King’s novels to the big screen, however it isn’t quite Shawshank.
Cool Hand Luke
Paul Newman is the star of Cool Hand Luke as Luke, a prisoner in a Florida prison camp who refuses to conform to the system.
More than anything it's Paul Newman's performance that is remembered and celebrated in Cool Hand Luke and it remains one of the best movies about nonconformity.
Conviction is released 14th January.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw