Review: On the Basis of Sex
Straightforward and bordering on by-the-numbers, On the Basis of Sex is a solid, old-fashioned biopic that focuses on the early life of the Notorious RBG herself, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It's a loving and flattering portrait - perhaps unnecessarily so since her accomplishments more than speak for themselves - and it certainly does its job, but there's a toothlessness to the proceedings that leaves one feeling underwhelmed.
Written by her nephew Daniel Stiepleman, the film begins with the striking image of Ginsburg standing out in a sea of well-suited men as they make their way into Harvard Law School. The year is 1956, only the sixth year in which women were admitted into the school, and Ginsburg was one of but nine women in the class. To be a woman was to be discriminated and who cares if you were as accomplished as any man. Tell us, the school's self-congratulatory Dean Griswold (Sam Waterston) says during a "welcoming" dinner, why you are "occupying a place in Harvard that could have gone to a man." Ginsburg retorts, "So I can be a more patient and understanding wife."
Of course, Ginsburg was already breaking the norms of what women were expected to be, and the film's early scenes do an excellent job in outlining how admirable Ginsburg was even before she became the gender-equality pioneer. When her devoted and supportive husband Marty (Armie Hammer), a second-year law student at Harvard, fell ill with testicular cancer, not only did she take care of him and their baby daughter, she attended his classes as well as hers, typing up his coursework as he dictated from his bed before concentrating on her own coursework. Yet the injustices continue: when a recovered Marty gets a job in New York, Griswold denies her request to finish her Harvard Law degree with classes in Columbia Law School in New York (though he had granted similar requests from male students); despite finishing at the top of her class, no law firm would hire her ("A woman, a mother, and a Jew to boot!" exclaims one interviewer); Ginsburg would soon settle for a teaching position.
Cut to 1970 when the feminist movement was beginning to take hold. Marty brings the case of Moritz v. Commissioner to her attention; it seems like one of his tax cases - a single Colorado caregiver has been denied the usual $296 tax deduction - until she realises that the caregiver is male. By starting with male discrimination, she can find a way to change sex discrimination laws against women. Naturally, this is easier said than done as everyone bar Marty believes that she is fighting a losing battle. The second half of the film resembles a procedural as Ginsburg prepares to argue her case. The highlight may be the moot court scene as her lack of courtroom experience is exposed, dimming her confidence and further establishing the personal and professional stakes of what would soon be a landmark case.
On the Basis of Sex is too earnest for its own good, though the strength of its subject prevents it from being too rote. It's a film that's watchable but innocuous and lacking the slyness and passionate intelligence that Ginsburg possesses. Jones does a serviceable enough job, doing well to display Ginsburg's determination, but she's not quite right. It's a performance that hits all the required beats, but without adding anything of note or personality. To be fair, Stiepleman's screenplay is too focused on burnishing the halo rather than allowing Ginsburg more moments of levity or mischief like the musical number she shares with former campmate, ACLU legal director Mel Wulf (Justin Theroux, excellent in a supporting role). The film could have used more of those moments, but there's certainly no denying its rousing climax nor the swell of emotion at the sight of the real Ginsburg in the film's closing shot.
On the Basis of Sex
Directed by: Mimi Leder
Written by: Daniel Stiepleman
Starring: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, Sam Waterston, Cailee Spainey, Jack Reynor, Callum Shoniker, Stephen Root
