Heroes come in different forms whether they're male or female. That also includes trailblazers or people who begin a trend, that will lead to the betterment of the lives of others in society. That certainly is the case with the story of Ruth Bedar Ginsberg being given a larger-than-life presentation in On The Basis Of Sex. Although biopics on famous and inspiring people can be a challenge to make as they not only have to be respectful to the real-life people their telling the story about, they also must serve as being compelling stories on their own right. In a time where both gender and women's rights are being put into question and in some cases being outright threatened, the story of Ruth Bedar Ginsberg's rise to stature as a Supreme Court Justice feels appropriate in bringing to the big screen as it's deeply inspirational and timely. Although the film didn't garner any major award nominations during it's initial 2018 theatrical release, it generated generally positive reviews from both critics and audiences with much praise going towards the films sincere approach to telling Ginsberg's story along with Felicity Jone's terrific performance as a young and tenacious Ruth Bader. Having seen the film, those praises are well-warranted with On The Basis Of Sex being a charming and inspirational biopic, that's brilliantly acted and firmly directed with a genuine respect and admiration for both the story and its main subject.
Based on a true story, the plot for On The Basis Of Sex focuses on the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the film exploring the early cases of her historic career along with her struggles in fighting for equal rights, that led to her landmark nomination and confirmation as a member of the U.S Supreme Court Associate Justice. The story of Ruth Ginsberg is one that's groundbreaking and certainly worth telling as she went through both incredible odds and heavy opposition to bring effective change to the lives of others, while building an incredible legacy based on the pursuit for gender rights and equality. The film is noble in its intentions and aims to be completely respectful of Ginsberg's legacy, even if it comes across as feeling a bit formulaic at times and ultimately not being as groundbreaking as the career of its main subject despite being a solid effort. What On The Basis Of Sex does well at is giving audiences the essence of who Ruth Bedar Ginsburg is, while also showing that her climb to the Supreme Court was not an easy one with it ultimately being twice as hard for her due to her being a female. The film is essentially a story about a woman who wants to become a lawyer so she can help change the laws for the better. Her story is tightly-paced, exceptionally well-acted, and filmed with a sense of understanding regarding the extraordinariness of Ginsberg's life, that its hard not to think of the end result as being a solid effort. On the Basis Of Sex is all heart and proves to be a wonderful celebration of an American icon, who stood by her convictions and never stopped fighting until she made change both within the Supreme Court and outside of it. The filmmakers deserve commending for also taking a basic court case and making it an engaging one with the audience becoming emotionally invested in its outcome.
As well as the film manages to be in regards to storytelling, it's the performances of the main cast that make it work as strong and effective as it ultimately does with Felicity Jones performance as Ruth Bader Ginsberg providing the film with its heart and soul. Not only is she perfect casting for the role, she manages to capture all of Ginsberg's mannerisms along with conveying her characters struggles and frustrations in trying to succeed in a career/environment that's male dominated. The film is as strong and effective as it comes across due to her work here with Ginsberg treating the role with the appropriate respect and admiration it demands. The second best performance goes to Armie D. Hammer as Ruth's loyal and supportive husband Martin Ginsberg. Hammer does a terrific job as well with his character witnessing the significance of his wife's efforts, as well as being supportive of her regardless of the amount of opposition they endure. Both Hammer and Jones perform terrific together along with showcasing believable chemistry as a married couple. The audience gets a genuine feel for their relationship and care when Martin's character becomes sick and Ruth chooses to stand by him. The rest of the supporting cast does well with Cailee Spaeny as Ruth and Martin's daughter Jane C. Ginsberg. Spaney impresses with her role as the young daughter of Ruth, who embodies an activist spirit while pushing her mother to not succomb to the system that's rigged against women and to keep fighting. She becomes Ruth's conscience and motivation to keep fighting her case, particularly when Jane references Atticus Finch with To Kill A Mockingbird. Justin Theroux also shines with his effective role as Ruth's friend and boss Melvin Wulf. Theroux proves effective with his character believing in Ruth's cause, but also reminding her of limitations regarding her case. Kathy Bates also manages to surprise in her minimal yet pivotal role as a forgotten female trailblazing activist Dorothy Kenyon, who helps Ruth in her quest to fight her clients case along with bringing change to both gender and women's rights. The rest of the cast deliver notable performances with Sam Waterston as Erwin Griswold, Chris Mulkey in sympathetic performance as the client that Ginsberg defends, Charles Moritz, Jack Reynor as the young prosecutor going against Ginsberg's client, Stephen Root and Ronald Guttman as Ginsberg's former professors Ernest Brown and Gerald Gunther, who run against her on the opposing team attempting to discredit Ruth's case. The cast for On The Basis Of Sex has a great deal to do with why the film works as well as it does in terms of being a powerful presentation of Ginsberg's life and early achievements. Every performance is handled well and adds to the engagement the audience feels with the events depicted in the film. As well as the supporting cast does in helping to add both realism and believability to the story, it's the work of Felicity Jones and Armie D. Hammer that standout as being the best performances in the whole film with both actors appearing totally committed as well as passionate about playing their parts.
In addition to its exceptional acting performances, the films directing by Mimi Leder is well-handled with the story being given a rich and reasonably high quality production, that never allows the film to feel like a bland TV drama. Despite the noble intentions of its filmmaker, the film often comes across as feeling a bit old-fashioned and formulaic in terms of narrative with nothing new being shown. Leder's directing at times feels as if she's going through a checklist with including all the essential elements of an old school biography and legal drama such as intense courtroom showdowns, the personal struggles involving the lawyers of the defendants outside of court, and a powerfully effective closing argument that ensures victory due to it being so well-spoken and delivered by the main character. Although these scenes are well-executed in terms of both acting and directing, they feel like they're intended to make the film appeal as an award season flick, which ultimately makes Leder's directing feel a bit safe despite giving the film an inspiring feel to it. The film is well-shot with cinematography that blends well with the films costume and set design in transporting audiences back several decades prior to witness the rise of a young Ruth Ginsberg as a revolutionary activist beginning in the 1950's leading up to the 70's and 80's era. Each decade shown is properly represented with its overall look and style, further adding realism to the film. The score by Mychael Danna also serves as being an added plus for the film with the music enhancing the emotional core of the story, as well as its key dramatic moments. The editing gives the film a snails pace, though it makes complete sense given that both Leder and the films writers aim to take audiences through the early groundbreaking career of Ginsberg, which spans over the course of numerous decades. Even though the directing doesn't standout as being anything special that would've won it any major awards, Leder's work is well-crafted and heartfelt in placing the films main hero on the big screen in the most respectful yet larger-than-life form possible. One can truly feel the love and passion that the director has for the films main subject, while appreciating the attention to detail that Mimi gives the story, as well as delivering a tone that feels both insightful and compelling. What could've ended up being a boring biographical/courtroom drama is made into a heartfelt story thanks to the filmmakers desire to honor their subject.
The films screenplay by Daniel Stiepleman is well-structured with the films main narrative remaining focused on Ginsberg beginning her legacy in law as a student at Harvard with her being apart of only a handful of women allowed to attend the class. The writing does a reasonably decent job of balancing out Ruth's early career along with the relationship between her family. With the film, the audience gets to know Ruth Bedar Ginsberg on a more personal level in terms of witnessing her struggle in regards to being taken seriously as a female attorney, while combating the endless amount of resistance as well as sexism she receives due to her gender. The script also manages to show how strong of a bond Ruth has with her husband Martin with her choosing to be supportive of him by attending both his Harvard classes, along with hers during his battle with testicular cancer. Her strength both as a character and person is shown with her not only tackling both work loads, but also caring for her sick husband and their infant daughter Jane. The script does a fine job of humanizing Ginsberg, along with making her relatable to audiences. The relationship between Ruth and her daughter Jane is significant in showing how Ruth temporarily gave into the rigged system, but found inspiration to keep fighting again with her ultimately taking the case of Charles Moritz, Jane serves as being Ruth's conscience when she loses sight of what she's fighting for while also serving as her personal cheerleader in fighting not just for her case, but also for both women and gender rights. The script effectively tackles relevant themes of today that mesh well with the events depicted in the story such as discrimination under the law based upon gender, experiencing disappointment which Ruth does whenever she is forcibly set back from achieving her goals or mistreated due to being a woman by society, gender roles, cultural change, equal rights, protesting against Vietnam, tax law, privilege, morality, status quo, desegregation, stereotypes, legal ethics, and how words matter. The screenplay explores many of these themes and gives moments, that effectively convey them such as Ruth witnessing the privilege that her husband Martin experiences as he's complimented on his law skills by fellow colleagues with her efforts being unrecognized much to her frustration. The script also tackles stereotypes regarding what's expected in terms of gender roles with Ruth's client Charles being punished for being a male care provider for his mother with the expectation being that it's left up to a female to do such a task. While the films screenplay may feel as if it attempts to tackle all these important themes and risk buckling under its own pressure, the end result actually proves to be well-balanced as well as capturing the essence of who Ruth Ginsberg is along with showing that her landmark achievements despite being groundbreaking, were not easy to accomplish. With her character, Stiepleman not only informs the audience on her past but also makes her relatable to them with showing the constant denial she experiences of being given the same tasks as men with many members of the audience seeing themselves through her representation. If On The Basis Of Sex does anything right in regards to its writing, it's that it makes the audience fully understand who Ruth Bedar Ginsberg is for both those who are or aren't familiar with her, as well as showing that sometimes it ultimately takes one person to become the vessel for change in the realm of social justice.
As a film that desires and wants to become the go to source for learning about pioneering historical female trailblazers, On The Basis Of Sex proves itself to be worthy of such a title as it aims to inform its audience on the life of an extraordinary female, whose story is both motivational and inspiring to young generations of women. The film is not without its minor faults such as it often feeling a bit cliched and old-fashioned with its courtroom style drama, but the story is well-handled with sincerity and pure devotion in bringing Ginsberg's story to the big screen. The films message is also effectively driven home with it showing that Ruth Bedar Ginsberg devoted both her career and life to fighting for equal rights for women under the law, along with reshaping the perception of gender roles through winning her case. With Ginsberg's story, the filmmakers show that not all heroes need to have superpowers or costumes to make a difference in society. As the film shows, sometimes it just takes one person going against the odds with both the persistence and determination to succeed in making effective change, which is what Ginsberg has done. It may not be the most groundbreaking or original biographical drama, but its one that has its heart in the right place and aims to entertain, education, inform, and ultimately honor its subject in the most humble and respectful way. On that level, the filmmakers behind On The Basis Of Sex succeed while serving as a timely message for younger generations of women to preserve the progress Ginsberg has made thus far and push forward. Those wanting to learn more about the life of Ruth Bedar Ginsberg or the progression of women's rights, will find themselves enjoying as well as appreciating the efforts of the cast and crew as this is a story that's both well-told, and engrossing from start to finish.
Final Verdict: For both biographical and history buffs, On The Basis Of Sex serves as being a solidly effective and well-acted historical drama that respectfully presents it's iconic figure in a light that both humanizes, as well as celebrates her legendary career.
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