On the Basis of Sex is a 2018 legal drama based on the life and early cases of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Directed by Mimi Leder, the film stars Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer, as Ginsberg and her husband, Martin, respectively. The film follows the story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s first major case, Charles E. Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the journey of Ginsburg’s life which led to it, and the people along the way that helped and held her back.
The film’s script was actually written by Daniel Stiepleman, Ginsberg real life nephew, which really lets the film to give the audience a more realistic and intimate view of the Supreme Court Justice and her family life. We really get to see her as a woman, as a mother, as a struggling lawyer, and as many of the other hats that she wears throughout the film. It’s easy for us to sit back and admire the 86-year-old champion, however it is important to look back at where it all started and really take it in. This film allows us to do just that.
It’s difficult for me to talk about this movie without getting emotional. I cried like a baby at the end. Mostly because I’m currently studying for the Bar. This is a long and emotionally exhausting process, one that is really only helped by watching movies and writing these posts. I got to watch Ruth face every adversity, adversity that would make any average Joe say: “Welp, I’ll quit and be a house mom forever, no big”. Yet, rejection after rejection, we see Ruth get up and fight and continue to fight. It is important to point out that Ruth is human like any one of us; she has breakdowns, she gets nervous, she reacts badly to situations. It’s the fact that she never gives up and that last scene where she’s climbing the Supreme Court steps and the ACTUAL TRANSCRIPT from her case is playing and her chilling quote is spoken (“ I ask no favors for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they will take their feet from off our necks”) broke me.
On a lighter note: I adore the love story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Martin Ginsberg. The film truly did them justice, I believe. Martin never falters in his support for his wife. He portrays something that, for the time, was so rare: a man cooking and helping to take care of his family. This is something you still don’t really see a lot.
I just really appreciate the film. I feel like the story is tight and tells the story it needs to tell and gives the audience the morals it wants to communicate. I did some research and Ginsberg has confirmed that some stuff is exaggerated for dramatic cinematic effect (Such as her faltering before the judges). The movie tells its message with such passion and love, however, that I can really overlook any little nit-picks I might have and agree with Rotten Tomatoes’ 73% rating:
On the Basis of Sex is nowhere near as groundbreaking as its real-life subject, but her extraordinary life makes a solid case for itself as an inspirational, well-acted biopic.
Thanks for reading,
Originally published at http://victoriaeligalan.wordpress.com on June 21, 2019.
