Review of On the Basis of Sex (2018) by Markhreviews — 12 Jan 2019

One would think “On the Basis of Sex” would have the inside track for offering the definitive take on Ruth Bader Ginsburg. After all, the screenplay was written by Ginsburg’s nephew, Daniel Stiepelman, whose script was discussed, reviewed and edited by Ginsburg and her daughter, Jane. Despite this inside information and the artistic license granted this fictionalized version of Ginsburg’s life, the resulting movie does not compare favorably to last year’s more comprehensive, more powerful documentary “R.B.G.”.

It’s curious that the film focuses so narrowly – a few scenes of Ginsburg at Harvard Law, her early days in NYC beginning in 1959 and an emphasis on her first major gender equality case, Moritz v. IRS, which was argued before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1972. Between 1973 and 1976, Ginsburg argued six gender discrimination cases before the US Supreme Court, five of them successfully. One wonders why the film focuses solely on the beginning of her work on gender equality, while giving no real attention to the legal precedents she helped create for women over succeeding years. For many, it is Ginsburg’s relentless pursuit of gender equality, accomplished case by case, brick by brick, that has made her so admired. However, this narrow focus does allow the film to paint a painfully vivid picture of the barriers she had to overcome. According to this film, women didn’t just cope with glass ceilings, in many cases they lived in glass cages.

In general, the cast is first-rate. As Marty Ginsburg, the ever-supportive spouse, Armie Hammer taps into the same thoughtful, soulful character for which he received a Golden Globe nomination last year for “Call Me By Your Name.” At key points, Cailee Spaeny, as Ginsburg’s daughter Jane, offers a refreshingly in-your-face activism and assertiveness. Jane’s personal power shows clearly that the gift of independent thought and capacity to question everything – which RBG received from her mother – was passed on to the next generation. Unfortunately, Felicity Jones in the lead role just seems out of place. Jones was wonderful as Stephen Hawking’s wife in “The Theory of Everything” (2014). Here, she seems to be laboring to tone down her irrepressible perkiness. Or, perhaps, it’s just that RBG, in this rendering, is just so humorless.

The film is particularly incapable of treating the traditionalists who oppose feminism as anything other than bad caricatures. In one early scene, Law School Dean Erwin Griswold (Sam Waterston) invites the nine female member of the incoming class to dinner at his home. Once seated, he asks each to introduce herself and explain why she is taking the place of a deserving man. It all comes across with the subtle nuance of Gallagher hitting a watermelon with a sledgehammer.

Many years ago, I recall my father, a thoughtful, decent man, saying that he would be willing to help fund higher educator for his granddaughters “should they prove educable.” From today’s perspective, it’s jarring to think about that stereotype permeating the thinking of reasonable people. As much as any other individual today, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been responsible for changing that point of view. Unfortunately, “On the Basis of Sex,” fails to do her justice.