On The Basis Of Sex: Film Review

On The Basis of Sex: Film Review

Cast: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Cailee Spaeny, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates
Director: Mimi Leder

Swathed in sincerity so tightly that it almost becomes claustrophobic, Mimi Leder's take on Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a film that wants us to embrace RBG rather than earning the right to do so.

In fact, compared to the recent doco RBG which detailed her life with both chutzpah and joe de vivre, On The Basis of Sex is lacking, even if it does choose to dwell mostly on the case which saw Ginsberg make her name.

Starting back in 1956 with Ginsberg wide-eyed and eager to be entering Harvard, Leder's film wastes no time showing the obstacles that she faces from the get go. Whether it's being a woman in a sea of men as the opening shot details or watching as Ginsberg is asked to justify why she was able to take the place of a man, Leder's film is about stacking the obstacles in Ruth's path - and piling them high.

Equally, the health problems faced by her husband (played with ease by a smooth Hammer) simply serve to show Ginsberg's ferocity in the face of it - and her determination for her family. All of which Jones delivers with relative aplomb, even if the film follows a formulaic and occasionally borderline dull execution of the biopic.

Things are crystallised a little more when the movie comes to the Charles Moritz case for which Ginsberg made her name - and while the spark rises a little more here, as the fire comes out, the film's choice of course lends itself to speechifying rather than natural dialogue.

It's very much a case of the usual underdog tropes, and is perhaps underscored more by what's been learned in the RBG doco and what is currently happening in America, but On The Basis of Sex makes a good strong case for a TV movie, rather than a big screen outing. Sure, there's a solid take behind the camera, but there's scant flourishes which render this exciting or enticing, despite the good work delivered by both Jones and Hammer.