3.5 stars out of 5
I honestly thought I’d bought a ticket to a documentary; that’s how quickly I had read the description of this movie. Was caught off-guard when “Based on a true story” popped up on the screen. But hey, I can adjust.
I did correctly read that the story involved the real-life California Innocence Project (CIP), which — like the Loyola Project for the Innocent whose director is my old friend Adam Grant — works to free the wrongly imprisoned. These are just two of the innocence organizations worldwide that provide no-cost service for their clients, while striving to improve justice systems.
The case of football prospect Brian Banks was a little different — he was already out of jail and on parole. However, as a registered sex offender with an ankle monitor, Banks couldn’t go near a school or park — which ruined his legit shot at a pro football career, and he also found it incredibly difficult to find employment. Banks insisted he’d been falsely accused of rape, and that at age 16 he’d received bad legal counsel (including never submitting DNA evidence which would’ve exonerated him) and accepted a no-contest plea deal. With nowhere else to go, he turned to the CIP.
Aldis Hodge (City on a Hill) does a solid job as Banks, displaying mental anguish and despair, tempered by hope. He is less believable — wearing a wig — as the 16-year-old Banks. I think a bigger production would’ve cast a different actor to portray the young Brian.
Greg Kinnear, easily exuding good-guy-ness, is head of the CIP. Morgan Freeman, uncredited, lends the film gravitas as a prison counselor. Sherri Shepherd is OK as Banks’ mom; she gets her big speech in.
The director is Tom Shadyac, who previously gave us such classics as Ace Ventura, Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor, and Bruce Almighty. Kudos to him for stretching here on a drama, but unfortunately Shadyac is a little out of his depth. The film looks and feels like an old-school TV movie, albeit a pretty good one. The true story is certainly compelling, and thankfully there is acknowledgment of what can happen when a victim isn’t believed. If you’re unaware of innocence organizations and the crucial work they do, this isn’t a bad introduction.
Jack Silbert, curator