There's nothing terrible about Confirmation. The acting is decent, with persuasive performances. It puts out the basic facts, shows the Republican street-fight tactics that included a threat to introduce nonsensical, sleazy testimony from some Hill students, and portrays the Democrats as outgunned and, as is often the case, unwilling to pull out their own knife even after the Republicans draw blood.The problem is, it's all pretty boring. To some extent, that may be the result of the source material; neither Thomas nor Hill is a dynamic personality, and you're essentially faced with a he-said- she-said between two staid Republican lawyers.At the same time, the movie seems desperate to keep things dry and serious. Alan Simpson says some nutty things, but the actor says them as blandly as possible. Kinnear does a good job of imitating Biden, except his performance tosses out Biden's low-key humor in favor of midwestern blandness.Basically, any place where the movie has a choice between making things more dynamic or less dynamic, it chooses less dynamic, resulting in something that's actually sometimes less dramatic than watching the original hearings on youtube.Confirmation seems built for the classroom, where students can watch and discuss it. If you want to learn a little history, I'd say this is a palatable choice, but if you want to watch something enjoyable, give this a pass.

This is a television film, a political-thriller-drama from the director of 'Dope'. Inspired by the real 1991 event when president Bush nominated the judge Clarence Thomas to the supreme court. Followed by a former employee Anita Hill, came forward claiming Thomas sexually harassed her while working for him back then which brings an enquiry on the issue before any big decision regarding his new post. Both the sides fight, but it's her alone against the president backing team. How the hearing ends and who wins it disclosed in the remaining part.Good cast, but Kerry Washington was reason the film to shine. Her performance reminded me Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin from 'Game Change'. She won the Emmy Awards for that and now I believe Kerry Washington has a chance to do the same. Apart from her, the story did not look good. It opened so well, followed by strong middle part and then the last act last its charm quickly. Because it was all about one alleging against another and he keeps rejecting them, but that twist I expected never came or its powerful dialogues. Even though it was beautifully made.The reason the movie staying neutral is might be the actual result of the trial. So they kept balancing the contents throughout the narration, yet the as the viewers, we can understand the guilty feelings from the suspect's face. That's how the film silently gives its own verdict regarding whatever the real one was. One of the best television film, but due to its weak conclusion, the people are dissatisfied. Still, it is a good watch, if you are interested in politics to learn how ugly and at a same time how silly it is.7/10

Outstanding study of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy of 1991 with Greg Kinnear a standout as Sen. Joseph Biden, head of the senate committee investigations the allegations made by Prof. Hill. Kinnear actually sounded like Joe Biden and he was quick to profanity behind the scenes.The person portraying Prof. Hill, Kerry Washington, did not come across as a college professor until things really began to heat up.Definitely a fine film showing how politics entered into the fray. Too bad that Jennifer Hudson's character never was able to testify. It would have brought out more from the Oscar winner Hudson.The man who played Sen. Simpson from Wyoming gave a convincing supporting performance.Certainly the affects of the controversy played a major role in women gaining political clout as shown by the 1992 elections.

Great casting, writing, and performances. It's very difficult to separate political opinions from opinions about this film. As usual, HBO does a great job depicting these accusations and subsequent hearings objectively and inspiring discussion about them. Since they don't cast Thomas in a very good light, I'm guessing the lower rating is due to some Thomas defenders who don't want to be reminded of the accusations. It's difficult to watch this in light of Thomas's subsequent lackluster performance on the Supreme Court without concluding that Bush should have withdrawn the nomination. Both Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce did an outstanding job, as did the entire cast. I remember this well and the movie is historically accurate -- no matter who seeks to deny it.