Scoring Reality

In the HBO telefilm Confirmation, which chronicles the explosive 1991 Supreme Court nomination hearings of Judge Clarence Thomas after former employee Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment, one observer remarks, “This is political theater. It’s not a judicial proceeding.”

So it’s fitting that whenever composer Harry Gregson-Williams refers to the real-life people depicted in the movie – among them, law professor Hill (portrayed by Kerry Washington), Thomas (Wendell Pierce) and assorted politicos including Joe Biden (Greg Kinnear) and Ted Kennedy (Treat Williams) – he calls them “characters.”

“I’ve done a lot of films, and this plot is more farfetched,” says the composer of features The Martian, the Shrek franchise and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. “I had to do research to find out if these people did exist, and said these things.”

Born in England, Gregson-Williams did not move to Los Angeles until 1995, so he missed the extensive coverage and fireworks surrounding the Senate confirmation hearings.

Thomas had been nominated by President George H. W. Bush to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. After the leak of a report that Hill had made to the FBI, stating that Thomas had sexually harassed her while she was working as his assistant, she reluctantly came forward when subpoenaed to testify.

While the ensuing controversy raised public awareness of the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, Thomas was eventually confirmed, and remains on the Supreme Court today.

Growing up in England in a musical family, Gregson-Williams showed early promise as a singer, at the age of seven earning a music scholarship to St. John’s College, Cambridge. He later studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama and then became a teacher, in England and in Alexandria, Egypt.

He began his composing career as an assistant and then as an orchestrator-arranger, then scored his first films for director Nicholas Roeg.

Meeting and working with composer Hans Zimmer helped launch his career in Hollywood, which has been primarily in film and also encompasses television and video games.

He has teamed up with directors to score multiple films, including Ben Affleck – Gone Baby Gone, The Town; the late Tony Scott – Unstoppable, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Enemy of the State; Ridley Scott – Prometheus, Kingdom of Heaven as well as The Martian and Joel Schumacher – Twelve, The Number 23, Phone Booth.

Upcoming films include The Zookeeper’s Wife, Live by Night for Affleck and Alien: Covenant for Ridley Scott.

Gregson-Williams’s five children particularly enjoy his animated films. “I’ve had two strands to my career,” he says. “The family films like Narnia and Shrek, and the more serious films, led by Tony Scott and his brother.” The composer’s own brother, Rupert Gregson-Williams, scores HBO’s Emmy-winning comedy series Veep.

Confirmation was directed by Rick Famuyiwa and written by Susannah Grant.

What was your approach to scoring Confirmation?

This film documents something that had actually happened. Often, music is there to do more than support the story; it can be more subjective.

Here, you let the music come off the screen and not trod any false paths. They did say these things, and you [as the viewer] can make up your mind [as to who was telling the truth].

It was quite close to scoring a documentary, where one has to be careful of channeling emotions that are not really there. My job here is to heighten the emotions without misleading the audience.

In one cue, for instance, Anita’s opening statement, where she lays out what’s happened to her, all eyes are on her. The music has to be careful not to poke its head above the pack. I used a clarinet duet supported by strings.

Composers often assign musical themes to characters. Did you do that here?

There were four different thematic areas that needed exploration musically: Anita’s psyche, Clarence’s psyche, the actual proceedings and the circus-like atmosphere surrounding the scandal.  For Anita, I used woodwinds, and sometimes more stoically, the piano, which was meant to communicate her strength and the courage of her character.

For Clarence’s character, I used a French horn, which seemed to be a symbol of his strength, his fortitude and tenacity.

The film used archival news footage, and when it was being shown, you’d want momentum and intensity, so I used string ostinati [repetitive musical phrases] and rhythmic pulses, to create a sense of intensity and remind the audience how high the stakes were. For the media circus and pandemonium, the music was buoyant and jaunty, which served as a contrast to what was happening on the screen.

In a film like this which relies more on dialogue than action, were there scenes where it was better not to have music?

Often, the first pass the composer has with the director is to “spot” the movie [to determine where music should be]. We toyed with quite a few moments of, “Should we have music at all?” A lot has to do with what is going on onscreen. Rick was quite sure that through the music, we could show both the strengths and the vulnerabilities of both characters – sometimes in the same scene.

You haven’t done a lot of television. How did this project come about?

I was asked by the filmmakers to come in for a meeting. As soon as I read the script, I wanted to do it.

How was working with HBO?

I enjoyed it! I called my brother Rupert, and asked him about it. He said, “They’re very positive, and they let you do your thing – I was very surprised. They’re very supportive.”

We have to at least mention The Martian – it became a global hit and was nominated for an Oscar for best picture. What was it like to work on that film?

The Martian was a fabulous film to work on. We all knew we were making a film that audiences would like. That’s rare – usually, one gives it one’s all and hopes people will like it. With The Martian, the first test screening went through the roof.

And back to Confirmation: You wrote the score to keep the music as neutral as possible between the two sides. Did you come to any conclusion yourself, as to who was telling the truth and who was lying?

I don’t see at all, from this movie or from the research, why in heaven’s name a respected, intelligent woman would make up such farfetched stories. There’s never going to be evidence – it was behind closed doors.