On the Basis of Sex review

ON THE BASIS OF SEX:

FELICITY JONES STANDS BEFORE THE COURT WITH A CAPTIVATING AND INSPIRATIONAL CASE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

FOCUS FEATURES

Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex

            Felicity Jones (Like Crazy, The Theory of Everything, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) fights for gender equality and women’s rights in the new biopic, On the Basis of Sex based on the career of real-life Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The film is directed by Mimi Leder (The Peacemaker, Deep Impact, Pay It Forward) and is one of two films released in 2018 based on Ginsburg with the other being the documentary, RBG.

            I’m not a purist on Ginsburg’s legacy and the impact she made on the American court system, but I’m familiar with the person and what she stands for. I had the misfortune of skipping out on RBG when it was released, so hopefully I’m making up for it by watching this.

            On the Basis of Sex delivers exactly what it advertises, a well-made legal drama with solid performances by its cast and a thought-provoking narrative. Similar to Vice the lead performance alone that makes it worth watching, in this case Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

            The film follows a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jones) who after receiving a tax law case from her husband, Marty (Armie Hammer-The Social Network, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Call Me by Your Name) revolving around a man from Denver named Charles Moritz, teams up with her husband to bring this case before the U.S. Court of Appeals in hopes of overturning a century of gender discrimination. Ginsburg has been a fighter for gender equality and women’s rights, and here she is being given a case where a man was discriminated against because of his gender.

Moritz was never married and needed a nurse to take care of his aging mother, so he could continue to work. However, he was denied a tax deduction for nursing services due to Section 214 of the Internal Revenue Code being limited the deduction to a woman, widower/divorce, or a husband whose wife is incapacitated or institutionalized at the time.

            With the help of her husband and support from her children, Jane (Cailee Spaeny-Pacific Rim: Uprising, Bad Times at the El Royale, Vice) and James (Newcomer, Callum Shoniker), Ruth takes the case to court and will not only change the law but change the judicial system and American rights forever.

            The film also stars Justin Theroux (The Girl on the Train, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Bumblebee) as Mel Wulf, Kathy Bates (Misery, About Schmidt, American Horror Story: Coven) as Dorothy Kenyon, Sam Waterston (The Killing Fields, Law & Order, Miss Sloane) as Erwin Griswold, Jack Reynor (What Richard Did, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Sing Street) as Jim Bozarth, and Stephen Root (NewsRadio, Star Trek: The Next Generation, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) as Professor Brown.

            Overall, On the Basis of Sex is flawed and relies on a lot of biopic and legal drama movie clichés but is well-intentioned and thoughtful enough to make you cheer. Felicity Jones is both the heart and soul of the movie in her performance as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she owns every moment and I was invested all the way through, she’s come a long way since Inferno.

            It isn’t a perfect representation of the story; the pacing feels rushed in certain areas like Ruth and Marty getting married and having their kids, but those events happen offscreen. The story can get a little predictable and formulaic at times, even though I’m not overly familiar with Ginsburg, I knew exactly how it would end and while it doesn’t ruin my enjoyment of the film in any way it was rather noticeable.

            This is one of those movies that made me want to learn more about the actual person and influenced me to check out the RGB documentary sometime soon. It honors the people involved and gives an informative but also entertaining story that makes you want to learn more without going full Hollywood and destroying their reputation (Ahem, Patch Adams!).

            I don’t know what else to say, it delivers quite possibly Felicity Jones’ best performance, an inspirational and well-written story, and honors one of the many women who changed the country forever. If this is your type of film, then On the Basis of Sex is the right case to take along with a viewing of RGB.