ON THE BASIS OF SEX: A By-The-Numbers Biopic

The world is on fire and our leaders are asleep at the wheel. If there was ever a time to seek out a real-life superhero in whom we could place our faith in, it’s now. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is that hero, and her time is now. Sort of. Though she’s been a Justice since 1993, 2018 saw a spotlight shone on Ginsburg as the subject of two films which catalogued her list of achievements and explored her personal life.

The first film, Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s RBG, is a documentary that splices archival and interview footage to tell a story about a studious Jewish girl from Brooklyn whose roles as a professor, lawyer, wife, and judge shaped the course of American civil rights. The other, the biopic On the Basis of Sex, was directed by Mimi Leder (Deep Impact) and tells a more contained story about Ginsburg’s groundbreaking work on the Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, her entry into dismantling laws discriminatory on the basis of.

Together, these films capitalize on a momentous current that hones in on social justice, simultaneously broadening the discourse regarding representation in media and telling bold new stories unexplored in the mainstream – as well as dumbing some of it down, commodifying it for the masses.

Girl Power™

On the Basis of Sex belongs to the latter camp, seemingly content with cleaner and tidier portrayals of female empowerment by way of witty ripostes to explicitly sexist men over, say, something more nuanced and without the wide appeal of a legislation-reading montage punctuated by a “check mate patriarchy” wink-wink type speech. That type of sexism exists, has existed a long time, and though reeling its ugly head less and less frequently, continues to exist, but it has little utility in a film outside of easily buying the protagonist some favor points from the audience.

It’s hard to knock this film because, though flawed and boring, it’s technically competent and sincere – this is the type of film that a younger generation will view with reverence for its protagonist, a beacon of hope in trying times that says you, too, can achieve greatness amidst a dumpster fire of a political landscape.

As far as biopics go, here is one that at the very least has the potential to inspire. Where that inspiration leads is uncertain, but one can hope for good things if the film’s subject is anything to go off of. Corniness aside, it is a story of overcoming insurmountable odds with pressure on all ends, the story of an under-sung hero’s rise. But that doesn’t mean the story presented cinematically is without flaw.

To its credit, the film opens pretty cheekily, and the unintended humor in that study montage is a joyous highlight. About one of the few things it gets right is those that appeal to our basic understanding of human decency – though, again, to be fair, is not quite so universal as one would like to think.

She deserves better

Barring real-life precedent, On the Basis of Sex is filled with the type of innocuous failures mainstream film is rife with, from the too-silly-to-be-true montage of Ginsburg and co. prepping for court to painfully uncomfortable scenes of romance between the leads.

Here would be an opportune time to insert that Felicity Jones performs the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, opposite Armie Hammer as her late husband Marty Ginsburg.  Neither phone in performances but there’s a disconnect with Jones as she struggles to maintain a “New Yawk” accent consistently across the film. Reconciling with her otherwise solid performance and this laughable, persistent quality is difficult – there are times where Jones is stellar and captivatingly emotional, yet others where she’s a silhouette of a character with a phony accent.

Notwithstanding the fact that a story proper doesn’t appear until close to the 1-hour mark, there is a chunk that should have been left at the cutting room floor. Dull scenes displaying the pervasive culture of misogyny at Harvard Law School are a necessary evil, but this film appears more invested in reminding audiences of the existence of overt sexism than telling a story of how Ginsburg contributed to the dismantling of systemic sex-based discrimination, and how the structures of power made it difficult for her to do so.

At one point, one of her colleagues raises the question “Would it kill you to smile more?” during an in-home moot court, and the question continues to resonate with so many women burdened with expectations of appearing certain ways. But it’s hard not to feel like the question is dually aimed at the audience, who by this point is likely bored and wants to see how the hero overcomes the challenge. You know, like a movie. And, like a good movie should never do, it fumbles on some of the basic elements of cinematic language – like employing a wide angle shot that reads as if to emphasize a distance between characters, in a scene where they are actively cooperating.

On the Basis of Sex: Conclusion

During my viewing of the film, I encountered something unexpected. On opening morning, the theater was occupied by the typical batch of middle-age and elderly moviegoers that occupy the matinee seats of the latest “based on a true story” showing. Two older women in the aisle behind me conversed in awe at the film’s closing text, wherein the film summarizes Ginsburg’s list of achievements since the Moritz case. “That was inspirational” one said to the other. These women had no idea who she was.

This experience, its dearth of youthful viewership and the superficially sweet but (at its core) painful exchange between boomers is telling of a generation schism. Though well intentioned, On the Basis of Sex is not likely to plant the seed of determination in the next RBG – they probably know more about her than this movie offers, and they don’t need pop feminist representations of even the most laudable of figures. Perhaps it’s my fault, and anyone else who expected to be engaged in a story about one of the great figures in American history, but the promise of a story to do Justice Ginsburg some justice was woefully underdelivered. Watch RBG, I guess.

But I’m just one male. What do you think – was On the Basis of Sex an unnecessary and opportunistic commodification of a feminist hero, or do you think its inspirational message is capable of registering strongly in younger audiences? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

On the Basis of Sex was released in US theaters on January 11, 2019 and will be released in UK theaters on February 22, 2019. For all international release dates, see here.