A Review of "On the Basis of Sex"

On New Year’s Day the two red-heads in my life and I drove to the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis to see “On the Basis of Sex.”  We were hoping to attend the movie at a theater closer to us, but we didn’t realize that the movie doesn’t have a wide release until this Friday, January 11.

I haven’t attended a show at the Uptown Theater for a long time.  This place is far different than the cookie-cutter theaters found in the suburbs.  Just walking into the lobby brings a feeling of history; people have attended shows at the Uptown since 1913.  After waiting in the crowded lobby the three of us entered a classic, large space.  My imagination took over as I wondered about all of the events that took place in the theater.  The lack of amenities actually sets the place apart as special.  No large parking lot to conveniently park?  No problem—this is what people experienced when going to a movie for years.  Seats that don’t go up and down? No problem—the experience connected you to people in the past.  Going to the Uptown was like participating in an active museum. 

“On the Basis of Sex” shares the story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RBG) early life as a lawyer.  The foil in the movie is sexism. Right away in the first scene we saw a group of men walking to class at Harvard Law School.  The fact that they were all men was unmistakable—until we saw RBG, played by Felicity Jones.

“On the Basis of Sex” is more than a movie.  It illustrates a cause.  Watching it is more than digesting something and then going home.  The movie drew in the viewer to cheer for RBG as she lived through the challenges of being a woman attending law school and then facing sexism in the legal system.  The audience watching the movie at the Uptown became active participants. When a man said something sexist, we booed.  When RBG shared an especially tart zinger, we cheered.  We could have been watching a vaudeville show from the 1920’s where the audience was expected to share our opinions out loud on each part of the show.

The sexism illustrated in the movie was appalling.  Despite needing to leave Harvard Law School because her husband was moving, Erwin Griswold, the Dean of Harvard Law School, played by Sam Waterston shared no understanding with her.  He wanted her to separate herself from her family and finish law school at Harvard.  After transferring to Columbia Law School and finishing at the top of her class, she still couldn’t find a job with a New York City firm.  She eventually had to accept an exile as a Law Professor at Rutgers University.

Eventually the movie landed on a story line by centering around a tax law case.  Charles Moritz had to hire a nurse to help him care for his aging mother.  He was denied a tax deduction because at the time a single man wasn't elgible for a tax deduction.  Discrimination?  Of course.  The case was brought to RBG and the fight for justice was on.

The story line became whether RBG could successfully defend Moritz in court, and if a crack in sex discrimination in the law could happen.  In working on the case RBG had to deal with the sexism of Mel Wulf, an ACLU lawyer played by Justin Theroux. I found this relationship to be the most interesting of the movie.  Even liberals aren’t immune to sexism.

                            

The movie had a good versus evil flavor.  And given the good versus evil paradigm that many liberals undoubtedly view the world, this movie will work for that audience. 

I wish the movie would have shared more of RBG’s story of becoming a Supreme Court justice and shared the challenges she has undoubtedly faced there.  Most of us don’t know and probably won’t remember the case of Charles Moritz.  We do know of the dissents that RBG has famously penned.  Stories about those dissents probably would have been more meaningful. 

One of the best scenes in the movie was when the real Ruth Bader Ginsberg actually walked up the steps of the Supreme Court Building.  This scene quieted the audience.  It felt like a wave of admiration came over all of us.  This is the story that I really wanted from the movie.  What led Bill Clinton to appoint her to the Supreme Court? What was it like for her to prepare for those hearings?  What did she experience as she’s written many famous dissents?  These are the questions I wish the movie had addressed.  Learning about an obscure tax case is certainly important, but delving into RBG’s legacy as a Supreme Court Justice would have been more helpful.

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