On the Basis of Sex Review

2018 saw the release of two films about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The first was critically acclaimed documentary RBG and the more recent film was the dramatisation about one of her most famous court cases.

On the Basis of Sex follows Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) from her days as a Harvard Law Student to her landmark case which sets out to prove the US tax code discriminated on gender lines. Over the years Ginsberg faces prejudice by the Harvard establishment, struggling to find work with a law firm and of course taking on a case where a single man denied a tax exemption for caring for his mother.

On the Basis of Sex tells an inspiring story about an important woman and it is easy to see why so many actors would be drawn to the film. Natalie Portman was attached to the film for four years before having to step down and Felicity Jones was cast in her place. The script was written by Daniel Stiepleman who’s Ginburg’s nephew and it made it onto 2014 Blacklist. And On the Basis of Sex does succeed as an inspiring tale and being able to make tax law compelling.

On the Basis of Sex has an incredible cast and this was the film’s best feature. Jones is an Oscar-nominated actress and she gave an excellent performance as a woman who was intelligent, determined and resolute. She lives up to the cliché that she has to work twice as hard just to prove herself. When she was at Harvard she had to take care of a baby, a sick husband, attend her own classes and success. She had a triple threat against her – she’s a woman, a mother and Jewish. Whilst Ginsberg’s gifted she’s not perfect, she suffers from moments of doubt and she is overly confrontational.

An interesting aspect of the film is the relationship between Ginsburg and her husband, Marty (Arnie Hammer). Both are equally intelligent and they are a team – both professionally and domestically. They may argue and clash on occasion but they are clearly a loving and supportive couple. It makes a change from clichéd scenes where the marriage is put under strain and one half demands the other to drop the case.

On the Basis of Sex was directed by Mimi Leder and it was her first theatrical film since Pay it Forward. Her best-known films were made in the ’90s and On the Basis of Sex feels like it came out from that decade. Legal thrillers were a popular genre in the ’90s and On the Basis of Sex follows some of those tropes like convincing the client, the legal research and the highs and lows in the trial. Like a ’90s film there were inspirable swells in the score and wanted to leave audience members to feel good.

The film does show how the women’s rights movement has changed over the years. The film starts in the ’50s where women start to be allowed into Harvard Law School. This period was marked by people dressing formally and the only action women took was work within the system. By 1970 young people have become more vocal and demand change. Within university students wear casual clothes and there were more female students. It went from women trying to earn respect to demanding it.

The change in attitudes is symbolised with Ginsburg and her daughter Jane (Cailee Spaeny). Jane was a firebrand who wanted to take the streets. Her view was ‘we not going to take it’ and a moment that highlighted this was when Ginsburg and Jane were heckled by a group of men – Ginsburg says just ignore them, Jane wanted to stand up to them.

Whilst the screenplay was praised it seems to be a case where what was better written on the page than what appeared on the screen. It was a mechanical exercise because everything stated in the film had to be tied into a later event. Technically it was fine but it lacked any organic progression.

On the Basis of Sex tells an important story about an important woman and clearly was apprising for awards. It wasn’t an Oscar level but it was still a solid biopic.