Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Feminism the Law of the Land in “On the Basis of Sex”
By Avery Tanner
Capitalizing on the pop-culture renaissance of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “On the Basis of Sex” gives a look into the icon’s early career, as well as her marriage to fellow lawyer Marty Ginsburg. The film comes on the heels of the release of “RBG”, an Oscar-nominated biographical documentary that holds a wider focus on the legal icon’s life. If you are looking for the complete history, “RBG” may be the movie for you, but “On the Basis of Sex” gives an intimate and accurate look at RBG’s origin story.
Directed by Mimi Leder with a script by Daniel Stiepleman (RBG’s nephew), the movie is a good example of simplifying a story without taking the teeth out of it. The film cannot dwell on every part of the lawyer’s 85-year life, that’s what the documentary is for, but it does give a more in-depth depiction of her early trailblazing work on behalf of all women.
The film begins in 1956, as Ruth (played by Felicity Jones) starts her first year at Harvard Law School, where she is one of nine women in her class of 500. Ruth sees the first of many obstacles she is set to face when her husband Marty (played by Armie Hammer) is diagnosed with testicular cancer not long after their first child’s birth. Ruth attends Marty’s classes and takes notes on his behalf until his recovery — all the while still attending her own classes. Once Marty goes into remission and graduates from Harvard Law, he is quickly hired by a firm in New York. When Ruth receives her law degree from Columbia, where she transferred to keep her family together, she is rejected by dozens of law firms, ultimately taking a job as a professor at Rutgers Law School. While Marty kickstarts his career with ease, Ruth sees countless examples of overt sexism — a theme that the film comes back to again and again, never letting the audience forget Ruth’s expectation-defying career rise.
It is during her time as an educator that Marty, a tax lawyer, presents Ruth with the case, Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Appellant Charles Moritz was denied a tax benefit that is consistently given to women who care for ailing family members. The dynamic Ginsburg duo takes the case because it “could topple the whole damn system of discrimination,” says Ruth’s character. It is at this point that Ruth, and the film, both find their identity.
Jones is no stranger to embodying historical figures — her work in the biopic “The Theory of Everything” as Stephen Hawking’s wife Jane earned her an Oscar nomination. Jones puts forward a steely performance as RBG, capturing her dogged determination and deep devotion to husband Marty. The actress’s Brooklyn accent slips in and out at times, with her own British accent coming through, but Jones still commands the attention of both the courtroom and the theater audience.
The heart of the film is the relationship between Ruth and Marty, a remarkably modern romance for its time. Hammer and Jones have good-enough chemistry, with the former playing the role of the doting husband with consistently disarming charm. It’s easy to fall in love with Hammer as Ginsburg, a man who supported his wife relentlessly while cooking and cleaning and raising the children. Newcomer Cailee Spaeny is captivating as the Ginsburgs’ quick-witted teenage daughter Jane. The mother-daughter relationship is often tense, but ultimately pivotal for Ruth, revealing a great deal about her daughter’s generation and the radical change happening in the American 1960’s.
The lack of aging make-up used in the film hinders the audience’s belief that the movie truly spans 20 years. The characters age but the actors do not. It’s somewhat distracting — but Jones and Hammer do their best to convince the audience that they have grown older as the Ginsburg’s. Justin Theroux, as Mel Wulf of the ACLU, and Kathy Bates, as civil rights advocate and lawyer Dorothy Kenyon, round out the cast.
“On the Basis of Sex” is part of a modern-day RBG renaissance. The film explains how Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed the precedent of gender discrimination and why her work is still important today, as she sits on the Supreme Court for her 26th year. Although it caters to those who are already fans of the formidable legal icon, it is entertaining enough to appeal to RBG newcomers as well.
The film doesn’t break as much ground as its subject, falling into several biopic clichés, but overall serves the career and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg faithfully. If you go, don’t expect any filmmaking molds to be shattered, but do expect to leave completely inspired by the Notorious RBG.
4/5 Stars
“On the Basis of Sex” is playing at Violet Crown Cinema. Tickets cost $9 plus fees.
