Anita Hill, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma, is contacted and questioned about Clarence Thomas. Hill, a former employee of Thomas, is prompted to speak about his workplace treatment. Anita Hill tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that, inter alia, Clarence Thomas had spoken to her about pornographic movies and actors such as Long Dong Silver. A psychologist tells a U.S. senator that Anita Hill has erotomania.
A hearing takes place at which Anita tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that, inter alia, Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her 10 years prior. From there, a slew of events unfolds as the Committee tries to determine who is telling the truth, with the world watching. The subpoena to Angela Wright, another accuser of Thomas, is withdrawn.
Actual news footage taped by CNN of United States Senate staff during the lead-up to the hearings was used, to give the film a more realistic tone.
Receptionedit
Confirmation received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Washington's performance as Hill and the film's depiction of its subject matter. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 79%, based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Stellar performances and gripping subject matter help Confirmation overcome production values that occasionally feel as dated as the infamous real-life case it covers."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
During the film credits, the onscreen text states that as a result of Hill's accusation of sexual harassment, more women were elected to public office in 1992 than previous periods, official sexual harassment complaints doubled, and an important workplace discrimination law was passed (referring to the Civil Rights Act of 1991).[25]
^Petski, Denise (February 2, 2016). "'Confirmation' Premiere Date Set By HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
^"Black Reel Awards – Past Winners". Black Reel Awards. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
^"Confirmation – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
^Washington, Arlene; Lewis, Hilary (10 February 2017). "Hidden Figures, Loving, and Queen of Katwe nominated". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
^Petski, Denise (5 December 2016). "WGA TV Nominations: 'The Americans', 'Stranger Things', 'Westworld', 'This Is Us' Among Nominees". Deadline. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
^"The Paul Selvin Award". Writers Guild Awards. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
^HBO’s series about the Anita Hill–Clarence Thomas hearings proves that scandal plus time equals riveting TV Slate April 15, 2016.