Although I finally watched "On the Basis of Sex" to honor the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and although it surely deals with some important legal precedents, I'm not going to pretend it's not a standard, even ho-hum, biopic and legal drama. It barely rises above an extended episode of "Law & Order" and even includes Sam Waterston in the cast. Generally, Hollywood is just bad an rendering anything academic or intellectual on screen, and so, as here, they resort to merely saying over and over again that Ginsburg is smart and to complimenting her writing of briefs. They say it because they don't know how to show it. When we finally get to the courtroom part, they also resort to a trope of a eureka moment where she turns the case around after some fictitious flubbing of it by the Ginsburgs--while, of course, the level of the musical score is heightened for some manufactured inspiration.
Such movies are better at relationship and family dynamics, though. Indeed, the screenplay was written by Ginsburg's nephew. When characters aren't pigeonholed as sexist baddies or egalitarian heroes, the picture does well enough. I don't know whether Ginsburg's daughter was as instrumental in her thinking as suggested here, but as drama of the real world reflecting the legal battle it's effective, as is the family's marriage of equals. Although their involvement in the case depicted here is reportedly fictional, the inclusion of Dorothy Kenyon and Pauli Murray is a nice thought in acknowledging Ginsburg's predecessors. Felicity Jones may be miscast, but she and the rest of the cast are fine enough, I suppose, and the focus on Ginsburg's skirts and appearance otherwise in male-dominated settings works well. As most seem to agree, however, the documentary "RBG" (2018) does a better job examining this central figure in the courtroom part of the women's liberation movement and who experienced renewed status as a cultural icon in her later years.
Such movies are better at relationship and family dynamics, though. Indeed, the screenplay was written by Ginsburg's nephew. When characters aren't pigeonholed as sexist baddies or egalitarian heroes, the picture does well enough. I don't know whether Ginsburg's daughter was as instrumental in her thinking as suggested here, but as drama of the real world reflecting the legal battle it's effective, as is the family's marriage of equals. Although their involvement in the case depicted here is reportedly fictional, the inclusion of Dorothy Kenyon and Pauli Murray is a nice thought in acknowledging Ginsburg's predecessors. Felicity Jones may be miscast, but she and the rest of the cast are fine enough, I suppose, and the focus on Ginsburg's skirts and appearance otherwise in male-dominated settings works well. As most seem to agree, however, the documentary "RBG" (2018) does a better job examining this central figure in the courtroom part of the women's liberation movement and who experienced renewed status as a cultural icon in her later years.