Another Enlightening Role for Danner in HBO’s ‘Judgment’

Today is “Judgment” day for HBO, so to speak. The sensitive drama debuts tonight at 9, with Tony Award-winner Blythe Danner playing yet another role in which she has left the production more enlightened than when she arrived.

“I’ve always found it wonderful to get a little bit of sociology and history and everything else when working on something,” says Danner. “I’ve always liked to play people who exist.”

When “Judgment” was first pitched, the networks decided not to take a swing. No surprise. This based-on-fact story deals with a couple whose son is encouraged by their parish priest into becoming an alter boy. Mom and Dad are thrilled about the arrangement until it is learned that their boy, and many others, has been sexually abused by the charismatic priest. The church attempts to stave off bad publicity by offering hush money. Danner and husband Keith Carradine decide to prosecute.

By shooting in tiny Lakeview, Fla. (the actual felonies occurred years ago in Louisiana), the production may have spared itself a nasty clash with the church.

“I think there was discontent with the archdiocese where we were shooting,” says Danner. “Not in an overt way did we find that out, but we just heard, you know, that there were mumblings of it.”

In the movie, the traumatized boy is expertly coached by ace attorney Claude Fortler, played by Jack Warden. The child’s testimony ultimately decides the fate of the wayward cleric. Danner understands that in real life, this result is much more difficult to achieve.

“It’s an area that’s never really been explored or entered before. There’s this sort of omnipresence that the Catholic Church has had on our society since it began. It’s ruled the world for so many centuries that I just think that this concept it has of itself has been infallible. It’s something that filters through all of society.”