The big news on the first day of Sundance is justice, an investigative documentary notable for being major league director Doug Lyman’s first foray into non-fiction filmmaking, whose existence was kept secret for over a year and all participants signed an NDA. known in fact. But for those who followed Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings and the shameful treatment of Christine Blasey Ford, who filed an attempted rape accusation while they were in high school together in the early ’80s, here. A near earth-shattering revelation. Sure, the anger still stings, but where’s the news?
Lyman and his producer and writer Amy Hardy said after the film premiered that it could provoke action and lead to “a true investigation by the power of subpoenas.” Now that I am in the seat, it is difficult to imagine anything that would make a difference here.
justice
Conclusion
Very little we didn’t know yet.
Ford’s testimony was credible, and those appalled by the bullying she suffered from Republican senators expressed disgust, not to mention hate mail from Trump zealots and threats to her family’s safety. Those who are willing to ignore the evidence that the evasively writhing, resentful performance Kavanaugh is unfit to serve will remain in that opinion, albeit without many new enhancements. right.
justice To regurgitate information that was already largely in the public domain, its primary purpose is not the kind of craftsman who inflates here and there generally ominous music that hints at dark conspiracies at the highest levels of government. There is, but likely a summary for the record… Big surprise.
Donald Trump mocking Ford’s testimony at one of his rallies needs to be replayed to remember the disrespect the White House then displayed for the whole process and, by extension, all victims of sexual assault. No. “Boys will be boys” dismissal is still the subject of reproaches, as are the words of those who ask why men ruin their entire careers because of what they did as children. But none of that is new.
In favor of the film, it provides compelling context from clinical and forensic psychologists about how trauma-related memories work, and not just Ford’s accusation, but the second accuser. It also adds credibility to Deborah Ramirez’s accusation. that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her while they were at Yale University;
Ramirez is widely represented here, telling her story with courage and candor. The fact that she was triple her minority at the white, male-dominated Yale University – a biracial woman from no wealthy background – made her memory of being humiliated at a raucous campus party all the more disturbing. After all, Kavanaugh’s cruel laughter is still in her memory.
Much of Ramirez’s experience is that of Ronan Farrow. New Yorker The article described Liman’s film in considerable detail, showing that Kavanaugh’s circle contacted other Yale alumni who were present at the incident and threatened them into silence. Given that the string of texts alluding to the contact of the Farrow predates the article by two months, the Supreme Court nominee perjured himself in testimony stating that Farrow’s article was the first he heard. Looks like it did. But again, is anyone really surprised at this point?
Even more unexpected was the participation of Ford. justice It’s limited to the opening shot of her partially out of frame, asking Liman about the ultimate goal of the project. Given all that has been swept under the rug, it’s probably no surprise that she chose to keep a cautious distance. There is nothing else that can help refresh the memory of what was a play or, well, justice.
Liman and his investigative team have shed light on the extent to which the FBI has been a puppet of the Trump administration, severely limited their investigations, ignored most of the relevant information collected in the intelligence Kudos for only providing Kavanaugh information. – Relevant documents to the White House. For example, it is surprising that no attempt was made to interview Ramirez and the other Yale alumni seen here in Kavanaugh’s accusatory recollections.
The most important piece of new evidence the film uncovers is testimony from Max Steer, founder and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service and a respected bipartisan figure in Washington. . Stier, who is not on camera, was accused of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh during a drunken dorm party involving another woman who chose to remain anonymous after seeing how Ford was treated. Records state that they witnessed the act. Again, the FBI refused to pursue her Stier allegations.
But it doesn’t exactly make for a searing exposure.Given that justice Touted at Sundance as a powerful indictment of a corrupt system, it turned out to be no small affair.
