On the Basis of Sex (2018)
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A legal scholar fights to overturn discriminatory laws by first challenging the government's treatment of men.
The story
In 1956, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a first-year student at Harvard Law School while her husband, Martin, is diagnosed with testicular cancer. After Martin's recovery, Ruth faces significant gender-based discrimination in the legal field, eventually settling for a professorship. In 1970, she identifies a tax law that discriminates against men who provide care for relatives, viewing it as a strategic opportunity to challenge sex-based discrimination more broadly. Seeking to set a legal precedent that would eventually benefit women, she enlists the ACLU to represent a man in a pro bono case, aiming to prove that the law must keep up with societal changes.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1956, Ruth Bader Ginsburg begins her legal education at Harvard while caring for her husband, Martin, who has testicular cancer. After Martin's remission, Ruth graduates from Columbia Law School but faces systemic gender discrimination in hiring. She begins teaching 'Sex Discrimination and the Law' at Rutgers. In 1970, she takes on a pro bono case for Charles Moritz, a man denied a tax deduction for caring for his mother. Ruth strategically chooses this case to challenge sex-based discrimination, reasoning that an appellate court of male judges would be more sympathetic to a male appellant. Despite initial resistance from the ACLU, she secures help and argues the case before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. During the oral argument, Ruth successfully argues that the law should reflect societal changes. The court unanimously reverses the Tax Court's decision, making Moritz v. Commissioner and Reed v. Reed the first federal cases to declare sex discrimination unconstitutional. Ruth goes on to co-found the ACLU's Women's Rights Project, winning numerous landmark cases. The film concludes with her 1993 confirmation to the Supreme Court and a final shot of the real-life Ginsburg walking into the building.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Mimi Leder
- Writers
- Daniel Stiepleman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Felicity Jones · Ginsburg; Armie Hammer · Martin; Justin Theroux; Sam Waterston; Kathy Bates; Jack Reynor; Cailee Spaeny; Stephen Root
- Genres
- biographical; legal drama; drama
- Themes
- sex discrimination; legal equality; gender roles; activism
- Tone and mood
- inspirational; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- biopic; legal drama; historical; feminist
- Source material / true-story basis
- the life and early cases of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the lead performance and pacing, though some found it predictable and hagiographic. It received a 'solid' box office performance in the US and Canada.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 59 · scale: 100 · review count: 40; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 94%
- Production trivia
- The screenwriter, Daniel Stiepleman, is Ruth Bader Ginsburg's real-life nephew.; The film was shot in Montreal.; The song 'Here Comes the Change' by Kesha was not included in the film's soundtrack.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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