After watching the documentary RBG (check out my review here) and learning about Notorious RBG a.k.a. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I was impressed by her life story and came out of the theatre wondering how long it would be until somebody decided to make a proper Hollywood film about her. Turns out the answer was mere months away.
On The Basis Of Sex does not cover the whole life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg; unlike the 98-minute documentary, On The Basis Of Sex focuses only on her experience at law school and her first case during its 120-minute runtime. For those not in the know, Ruth was one of the first to get into the Harvard Law School after women were allowed to attend and used her education to advocate women's rights and gender equality, eventually becoming an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Having seen the documentary beforehand, I was already aware of how many amazing things this woman has been able to achieve. So I can honestly say I was a little disappointed on how little scope the film had. I had hoped to watch a very dramatic build in the film as she took on the Supreme Court to get unfair laws changed. Instead, we see the appeal case prior to the Supreme Court cases, and in great detail.
One thing this does do is hammer home the frustration that all of the characters feel. When you see an injustice and are helpless to fix it, you feel frustrated, and when you know you are in the right but are met with absolute closed-minded stubbornness, it is infuriating. These feelings of passion for civil rights are very well conveyed. The film spends a lot of time focusing on the relationships between Ruth and her family, friends, and opponents. It builds the drama in the film and develops the characters of Ruth and husband Marty very well, but does mean the pace of the film is slow at times.
As far as casting goes, Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer do a great job, Armie playing the doting ever-supportive husband, and Felicity playing the passionate, but timid Ruth. Again, comparing to the documentary, you can't help but feel that Jones has much more confidence and is more outspoken than the real Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But without meeting her in person I can't really tell which is closer to the truth. Jones does showcase Rith's work ethic, and areas of focus very well.
On The Basis Of Sex is a safe film. It brings to the public eye how laws can be changed for the better, and how precedents can be started at any point in time. The focus on inequality is currently very relevant as many countries in the world continue internally dividing. It doesn't push any barriers though. It spends so much time on the build up on the first appeal case, that it doesn't give you an opportunity to apply it to the modern day, and it doesn't provide a satisfying end (unless you want to include some epilogue slides at the end).
It feels like the film was almost there. It was almost to the point where it forces you to consider your standpoint on certain topics, almost gets you to think about privilege. But right when the film gets interesting, it ends.
Definitely a good watch for those that are unaware of what she has achieved, but On The Basis Of Sex doesn't come close to having the impact of RBG.