Brian Banks was a promising teenage linebacker in Long Beach, California, headed for a top college football programme, when a classmate falsely accused him of rape. Advised to take a plea deal, he spent more than five years in prison and then lived as a registered sex offender, unable to work or play. The film follows his attempt to persuade Justin Brooks of the California Innocence Project to take on a case that seems impossible, since no new evidence exists. Directed by Tom Shadyac, best known for comedies such as Ace Ventura and Liar Liar, it is based on Banks's real story, and Aldis Hodge gives a restrained, dignified lead performance, with Greg Kinnear as the weary lawyer and Morgan Freeman in a small role.
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