The late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was beloved for many reasons – her stellar legal acumen that helped bring about greater constitutional protections for gender equality (as immortalized in the film On the Basis of Sex), her often scathing (yet exquisitely worded) dissents that laid the groundwork for future courts should they wish to ever overturn the majority opinion, and her short-stature but quick wit that saw her turned into a folk hero of sorts with the advent of her “Notorious RBG” moniker (as immortalized in the book of the same name). Ginsburg also had a documentary about her life, RBG, released in 2018 to strong reviews. So, Ruth – Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words, the very good and emotionally resonate documentary about the life of Ginsburg, isn’t exactly attempting to cover original ground.
In fact, if you watched RBG, or are familiar with Ginsburg’s life story (her struggles getting hired at a law firm despite finishing at the top of her Columbia Law class, her landmark arguments in front of the Supreme Court, her own appointment to the DC Circuit Court and then the US Supreme Court, her wonderful marriage to Marty Ginsburg, her close friendship with Justice Antonin Scalia – her ideological opposite but dear friend, and her incredibly sharp legal mind), you will be hard pressed to find any really new information to be had in this documentary. There are interviews with friends, family, and a former law clerk to pair with historical clips of Ginsburg speaking – in oral arguments, from the bench, in various interviews.
“A very good and emotionally resonate documentary about the life of Ginsburg”
Now, lest you think this review is going to be a pan, let me stress that I enjoyed Ruth a great deal. And I wholly recommend it (for reasons I will get into shortly). But I wanted to stress that, in a world with many Ginsburg films, books, and pop culture references, this particular documentary doesn’t break any new ground. But it is a gorgeously crafted film that is built to show its audience both the legendary justice and the very human woman that existed within Ginsburg. Freida Lee Mock, the film’s director and co-writer (with M.A. Golán) achieves a real balance between those two sides to the larger than life figure – something I haven’t seen accomplished in any other Ginsburg films I’ve seen. And it’s not an easy feat to achieve. After all, with someone as beloved as the late justice, it would be easy to treat her as an untouchable figure, whose brilliance is unmatched and whose accomplishments should be lauded. And yes, the film is certainly pro-Ginsburg in its slant, if that’s something that matters to you.
But Mock is able to show both the private and public faces of Ginsburg, making it clear that her successes were not solely hers (Marty gets a great deal of credit, as he should, for his work both in pushing to get her elected to the judiciary and for being willing to step back and allow her to ascend to the highest position in their shared profession – and for making sure Ginsburg had some wonderful meals to eat at home, as he was noted for his cooking ability and Ginsburg was very open that this was not her particular area of strength). If there was one thing I wished the film provided it would be original interviews with its subject. Yes, it was interesting to see her past words used to shape the documentary (and I certainly understand the challenge in using this conceit as a way to frame a subject), but with the recent passing of Ginsburg it would have been special to have a few more new interviews with her to share with the world.
So, is Ruth – Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words worth a watch? If you are a fan or student of Ginsburg, absolutely. As a lawyer myself – one who owes a great deal in several facets of my life to Ginsburg’s work and opinions over the years, I found the film smart, informative, and moving in a way I didn’t expect. With the state of the US courts and constitutional law more in need of her mind and opinions now than ever before, there’s a sharp sadness to watching a retrospective of her life and work and knowing she’s no longer with us to teach us more. But, watching the film certainly reminded me how brilliant she was as a jurist, and how wonderful she apparently was as a human being.
Ruth – Justice Ginsburg In Her Own Words premieres in virtual cinemas on Friday, February 12, 2021, on TVOD Tuesday, March 9, 2021, and on STARZ Monday, March 1, 2021.
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