On the Basis of Sex

(spoiler free)

‘On the Basis of Sex’ looks at the early life & career of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a newly qualified lawyer in New York City. Written by Daniel Stiepleman and directed by Mimi Leder this biographical legal drama comes out only weeks after Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s Oscar-nominated documentary ‘RBG’ which also looks at the life & work of Ginsburg. Eagle-eyed viewers may also have noticed her cameo in ‘The LEGO Movie 2’ earlier this month. So whilst not short of screen time at the minute could this new dramatisation prove worthy of Ginsburg’s notable career?

The narrative presented here is a fascinating insight into laws that discriminate on the basis of a person’s gender and is one that will be largely unknown to many viewers, well at least the staggering amount of laws that fall into this category. The film is written in a way that quickly invites the audience to channel their outrage over this blatant sexism into supporting Ginsburg and her cause. It’s a brilliant cause and one that deserves this kind of big screen treatment. It’s great to see her story being told in this medium as well as in documentary form, hopefully reaching as large an audience as possible. In this film version the story could be told with a brisker pace though. It never becomes boring or a challenge but in some moments it just lacks a little energy that could have kept the whole production more efficient. Despite this ‘On the Basis of Sex’ is still a wholly worthwhile biopic that mass audiences should enjoy.

The performances of the cast go along way in making this achievable. Lead by the wonderful Felicity Jones as Ginsburg, she and her co-stars deliver a compelling collection of performances. On occasion there are moments where there’s a tad too much legal jargon spouted in quick succession to fully comprehend but the strength of the performances excuse this as they still manage to be captivating within these times. Armie Hammer offers great support as Ginsburg’s husband Martin, an expert in taxation law. Beyond this there are a number of excellent character performances from Kathy Bates, Stephen Root and Sam Waterston amongst others, each contributing what is requited of them from the screenplay. Together they serve as an engaging group of performers helping to make sure that ‘On the Basis of Sex’ is as entertaining as possible.

So whilst ‘On the Basis of Sex’ isn’t quite as remarkable as Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s revolutionary work, not that any film would be, it captures the spirit and passion of her career paying tribute to her in adequate fashion. Felicity Jones is a fantastic lead and is supported nicely by her co-stars but it’s the inspiring story of a woman refusing to accept the status quo which is the real star and rightly so.

Written by Hamish Calvert

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Rating – 7/10

Question: What is your favourite Felicity Jones film?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)

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