As the title suggests, I felt "On the Basis of Sex" could have been better. Now I enjoyed it; It was funny in parts, and it's a story that should be told. It just should have been told better.
For one, most people know who Ruth Ginsburg is. That's the trouble you run into with a biopic. Most audience members will know how the story is going to end. But let's assume you didn't know who Ruth Ginsburg was. Then you wouldn't know the ending of the story, right?
Ginsburg on her first day at Harvard Law among a sea of menhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28dHbIR_NB4
Only you would because she fought for women's rights. And we all know the outcome of how that battle played. Women have equal rights. And like I said, that's a story worth telling. Any struggle that leads to something better is a story that should be shared. This story, in particular, is a part of this country's history and is worth telling.
My issue, however, is that there is no dramatic tension within "On the Basis of Sex." Even though the film focuses on Ginsburg's first case and the particular's of that first trial may not be widely known, the film continuously plays with the notion "will she get women's rights, will she not?"
Ruth, in class at Harvard Lawhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28dHbIR_NB4
As stated, we know Ginsburg succeeded. So watching, there's no tension within the film because I know what is going to happen. As actress Felicity Jones stands before the three judges in the films third Act, they seem completely against her points. The judges are painted as sexist at first (even though I think the film slowly shows that they aren't, they are tough so that she presents the best argument to make the ruling obvious; at least that is how I saw the scene playing out).
This attempts to build the tension that maybe Ginsburg won't get the ruling that states women should not be discriminated on the basis of sex. But there is no tension because as stated, we know the outcome. The argument could be made that "well, you don't know the specifics of this case, so maybe she wouldn't succeed."
Even if that were the reason, we still know at some point, she was successful. Maybe the film should have touched on multiple cases than to show how she had to work so hard. But the film never goes past this one trial.
Ruth on her way to court https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28dHbIR_NB4
Aside from a rushed first Act (that tackles her getting into Harvard, showing that the Dean is a dick, her husband getting testicular cancer and then jumping ahead 3 years to her looking for work before finally settling as a professor), the movie shines when we see Ginsburg's story away from the trial. Showing how she had to attend her classes as well as her husbands as he was sick and raise a daughter, settle as a professor, and how her daughter as a teen viewed her as someone who gave up -- is all interesting. Seeing how no one would hire her solely on the basis of sex was interesting. These moments shine. They don't look to create tension on a game that tries to say success isn't on the horizon when we all know it is. These moments tells us more about the woman who helped to fight and gain equal rights.
Again, it is a story worth telling, it just wasn't told as well as it should have been. Every story has dramatic tension. The moments I just mentioned, they have a tension to them. We know her mistreatment is wrong, but she has to endure it. There's no gimmick. And it's tense. But the way the second half of Act II and all of Act III play like she'll lose the case is cheap.
Ruth before the three judgeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28dHbIR_NB4
We know it's a movie. If this was fictional, you could assume that she would triumph in the end. But, the possibility of that not being the outcome could be enough to create tension. But since this isn't fictional, that possibility is empty, especially when the scene follows the cliche of "she's been thrown to the wayside, but that was just the boost she needed to shine."
I'm not saying it didn't happen that way. But the film has a very "this is a Hollywood movie" flow to the ending, where it feels made up to appease the audience when the tension wasn't present from the onset.
Ruth's last job rejection before settling as a Professorhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28dHbIR_NB4
Overall, the movie was enjoyable, but it really fell through in the third Act. The focus should not have been on this particular trial and its specifics, but rather have shown Ginsburg's story and how she had to work through many trials in order to see change.
