Synopsis
It Only Takes One Choice To Change History.
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
2016 Directed by Rick Famuyiwa
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
Kerry Washington Wendell Pierce Greg Kinnear Jeffrey Wright Eric Stonestreet Zoe Lister-Jones Grace Gummer Treat Williams Dylan Baker Erika Christensen Alison Wright Bill Irwin Malcolm Gets Peter McRobbie Kimberly Elise Jennifer Hudson Frank Hoyt Taylor Tom Virtue Peter Trencher Kristen Ariza Tom Nowicki Mary Rachel Dudley Rhoda Griffis Mystie Smith Donna Biscoe Natalie Karp Ed Amatrudo
Confirmación, Auf Treu und Glauben, Confirmação, Утвърждаване, Svědectví, באישור, Bizonyosság, 컨퍼메이션, Apliecinājums, Nominacja, Confirmare, Слушание, Teyit, Слухання, 关键判决, 關鍵判決
Another political travesty gets the HBO treatment where, in the name of fairness, we get a rather bloodless depiction of what was actually a public massacre. At least, in the final wash, it seems to agree that American hero Anita Hill was, in fact, telling the truth. But the story's chief villains — Clarence Thomas and Joe Biden — get off way too easily. Perhaps the film's most hilarious gaffe, given what has occurred since, is its depiction of Thomas' wife Ginny as a powerless, non-complicit, shrinking violet.
This old SNL skit from the time of the hearings does a way better job of articulating how a bunch of horny old hypocrites responded to this situation.
These HBO recent history TV movies are all the same: surface readings of political events somewhat enlivened by playing spot the celebrity. Had to pause for 15 minutes while we searched for confirmation that Michelle Obama (Robinson at the time) was in fact part of Hill's legal team. Results are inconclusive.
A couple of admirable starring performances bring life to this HBO original movie (debuting on the network April 16) about the Anita Hill trial: Kerry Washington as Hill, and The Wire's Wendell Pierce as Clarence Thomas. The supporting cast, especially Grace Gummer and Greg Kinnear, is also solid, and the pacing is mostly brisk and tense, except during the press conferences and hearings, which follow the dialogue and pacing of the real-life events, and thus seem stiff and exasperating, just as they did in real life. While the film doesn't solve the mystery of exactly what Thomas said to Washington and when — it portrays both of them as equally grieved and shocked by the other — the narrative here is one I sympathize with, about how Hill's testimony provoked long-lasting political and social change, and outlined a clear divide between men and women about how sexual harassment is interpreted and dismissed.
scavenger hunt #80 || november 2021
Watch a movie that involves US history.
This has an all-star cast, superb performances, a very unimpressive script (it plays a bit like a made for tv special), and an extremely important story, but I wished it was a little better.
I dunno, maybe it hit differently before the Kavanaugh hearings?
A decent and well-acted depiction of a harbinger for the Me Too movement and today’s amplified street-fight politics (not to mention how this confirmation in part led to the Dobbs v. Jackson decision). Kerry Washington is excellent, Jeffrey Wright is always appreciated, and Greg Kinnear totally nails the voice of Joe, who’s probably can’t remember this whole thing.
The story it tells is obviously important as hell, but damnnnnn HBO I know you can do better than this generic TV movie that lacks any momentum whatsoever and wastes a great cast.
Reminds me of how furious I was about this, in college.
Kerry Washington is wonderful and should be a huge star.....