*TONITE: 'CONFIRMATION' 8PM ET HBO, Drama ANITA HILL, CLARENCE THOMAS Sup. Ct. Hearing 1991

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Last edited Sat Apr 16, 2016, 08:34 PM - Edit history (2)

TV REVIEW: "CONFIRMATION", Variety, April 1, 2016.

Toxic partisan rancor over the Supreme Court – and Republicans’ current refusal to even consider a nominee – provides a beyond-timely backdrop to “Confirmation,” HBO’s sober, dutiful account of Justice Clarence Thomas’ extraordinary hearings amid allegations of sexual harassment. And while the focus will inevitably be on Anita Hill and Thomas, the central players in that drama, this spare retelling offers greater insight into the cluelessness of the white male senators determining his professional fate than of the “He said, she said” divide.

Meticulously produced, cast to the hilt and boasting powerful performances by Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce in the lead roles, “Confirmation” portrays Hill as a woman dragged reluctantly into the spotlight, only to be subjected to character assassination and second-guessing as Thomas’ Republican supporters seek to salvage his nomination. At the same time, Pierce projects a sense of hurt and betrayal as Thomas – a black conservative put through what he famously called “a high-tech lynching” – who never wavers, publicly or privately as presented here, from his assertion that the allegations against him are fabricated.

It was 1991 when Thurgood Marshall, the court’s first African-American justice, announced his retirement, with George H.W. Bush’s administration hoping to smooth its path by tapping Thomas to replace him.

The choice, however, did little to suppress opposition. The search for background on Thomas unearths years-old episodes involving Hill, who’s minding her own business as a law professor in Oklahoma when she is thrust into the fray. “I’ve got students more qualified than Thomas,” says a law professor (Jeffrey Wright) who winds up helping Hill.

Still, the committee’s Democratic chairman, JOE BIDEN (Greg Kinnear, uncanny), is hardly enthusiastic about either turning the proceedings into a circus or sweeping Hill’s assertions under the rug. “I do not want to go after this guy on a sex charge,” Biden groans when first informed of the situation. (Much of this byplay is seen from the perspective of staffers working behind the scenes, including a pair portrayed by Grace Gummer and Zoe Lister-Jones.)...Continued..

MORE: https://variety.com/2016/tv/reviews/confirmation-review-kerry-washington-wendell-pierce-anita-hill-hbo-movie-1201743989/



Left, Anita Hill in 1991. Right, Kerry Washington as Anita Hill in HBO’s “Confirmation.” Credit Paul Hosefros/The New York Times; Frank Masi/HBO

[Capt.Rocky300]

1. I wonder how true to the facts this will be.......

I remember watching the hearings on TV but don't remember much anymore. I do remember that I knew he was a liar and Anita Hill was telling the truth. It was confirmed when the subject of "Long Dong Silver" came up and the look on Mrs. Thomas's face said it all. You know, that "Oh shit, we've been caught" look.

The thing was a national embarrassment. Or should have been.

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2. That's about what I remember. As to Biden, I didn't know much about how he assisted excluding

other women witnesses who could have made a difference until recently because of this dramatization. CT is a creep, and not a loner for sure. A well done drama, but uncomfortable to watch and revive but very important. The "high tech lynching" and "I'm not a slave" remarks I remember well. Ginny, Clarence's wife has had her problems, like many...