DIRECTOR:
Mimi Leder
LEAD
CAST: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer,
Justine Theroux, Sam Waterston & Kathy Bates
SCREENWRITER:
Daniel Stiepleman
PRODUCER:
Robert W. Cort
EDITOR:
Michelle Tesoro
MUSICAL
DIRECTOR: Mychael Danna
GENRE:
Drama
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Michael Grady
DISTRIBUTOR:
Focus Features
LOCATION:
USA
RUNNING
TIME: 120 mins.
Technical assessment: 3.5
Moral assessment: 4
CINEMA rating: V14
At a
time when a woman in Harvard Law School was a rarity, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg (Felicity
Jones) would enroll “in order to better understand (her) lawyer-husband”,
Martin (Armie Hammer). In remission from
cancer, Martin becomes a willing house-husband, cooking and baby-sitting their
daughter as Ruth continues with her studies and at the same time attending
Martin’s law classes for him. Then Ruth
discovers one case—Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Single and acting as caregiver to his mother,
Charles Moritz (Chris Mulkey) is arbitrarily denied a $296 tax deduction
because he is male when the US law assumes caregivers are female. The Ginsburgs and ACLU attorney Mel Wulf find
this as a gender discrimination against men and offer their services pro bono,
and the rest is history.
Smart
cinematography, crisp editing, and engaging dialogue all combine to spare the
movie from the talking heads syndrome. Based
on the true story of the woman whose perseverance, intelligence, and chutzpah propelled her to
the US Supreme Court, On the Basis of
Sex seems a tad too simplistic. The impressive performance by British actor Felicity
Jones in the lead role may have sprung from the reported approval of the real
Justice Ginsburg who told Jones, “I have seen your work; you can do it!” Revolving around one albeit landmark case, the
script takes an admiring viewpoint—perhaps because it is written by Ruth’s
nephew, Daniel Stiepleman—and falls short of portraying a truer-to-life success
story of the iconic Ruth Ginsburg. And
because the real Ruth Ginsburg is still active and alive at 85, the movie takes
on the coloration of an image-building endorsement used in political election
campaigns.
All
things considered, even though this woman of substance comes across almost like
a caricature in the film, it is nevertheless an inspiring one, capable of
empowering young women in a male-dominated profession. Many a woman would be envious of Ruth for
having a husband who is beyond supportive.
Many a father would learn a thing or two from Mr. Ginsburg on how to
handle a teenage child. Ruth’s passion
is inspiring, her sense of justice instinctive and keen. What the script lacks in story-telling detail
is adequately filled by the factual epilogue that comes after the last cameo
shot of Justice Ginsburg ascending the steps of the Supreme Court. The audience leaves the theater realizing how
great, indeed, is the Jewish woman who struggled against gender bias and
triumphed in a society that was not ready to be kind to either Jews or
women. Although the film is wholesome in
general, its theme may not be appealing to children.—TRT
