Ruth Bader Ginsburg (played by: Felicity Jones from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Inferno, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, & The Theory of Everything) is a first-year student at Harvard Law School. When her husband Martin (played by: Armie Hammer from Free Fire, Nocturnal Animals, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., & The Lone Ranger) falls ill with cancer, she attends both her classes & his.She stays busy taking notes & transcribing lectures while caring for Martin plus their infant daughter Jane. Two years later, Martin is hired by a firm in New York. Ruth transfers to Columbia Law School. She is unable to find a position with a law firm because none of the firms she applies to want to hire a woman. She takes a job as a professor at Rutgers Law School teaching “Sex Discrimination and the Law”. In 1970 Martin brings Moritz v. Commissioner, a tax law case to Ruth’s attention. It’s a case that opens up discrimination from the law. Ruth knows this is her opportunity to shine. Charles Moritz (played by: Chris Mulkey from The Hidden, Twin Peaks, Gotti, & Cloverfield) agrees to let Ruth be his lawyer.
Ruth enlists Mel Wulf (played by: Justin Theroux from Mulholland Drive, American Psycho, Bumblebee, & Star Wars: The Last Jedi) of the ACLU & civil rights advocate Dorothy Kenyon (played by: Kathy Bates from Misery, American Horror Story, Dolores Claiborne, & The Waterboy) for help. She struggles to convince them that she has a chance of winning & how important it would be for the law if it was successful. She fights to change everything with this. Martin risks his entire career on this & joins his wife to go against the government. Department of Justice Attorney James H. Bozarth (played by: Jack Reynor from Free Fire, Macbeth, Midsommar, & Detroit) asks to be the lead counsel for the defense by Erwin Griswold (played by: Sam Waterston from Law & Order, The Killing Fields, Serial Mom, & Warning Sign) & Professor Brown (played by: Stephen Root from The Office, Barry, No Country for Old Men, & King of the Hill). Ruth is determined to change the world & prove she is worthy of practicing law after all the firms turned her away, can she do it????
On the Basis of Sex is a powerful film when it comes to law & discrimination rights. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a known personality & this feature is based off her life. They promoted this as her origin story like it was some superhero film, that kinda cracked me up but it meant if they did good they could possibly do sequels. Unfortunately, it didn’t find it’s audience in theaters so I don’t think that’s going to happen now. Felicity Jones is great as Ruth Bader Ginsburg & she gives one of her better performances. She has a top notch that includes Armie Hammer, Chris Mulkey, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, Sam Waterston, & Stephen Root that boosted the overall quality of the production. Mimi Leder returns to the big screen after focusing on television for a long time now, she proved she still has what it takes to deliver a major motion picture in the film industry. The script covers all the major moments from this legendary event & it really gave Felicity Jones material to shine. This is character study & law film so expect anything crazy when comes to action, suspense, or anything else. It’s exactly what you think it will be. I didn’t see this get much attention when it was released but it’s definitely worth checking out. RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Universal! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer looks good on blu ray. It’s not flashy or stylized, it’s straight forward & polished cinematography. The locations don’t really give it a chance to be visually appealing. It has 3 different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1, & French (Canada): DTS 5.1 on the release. Like I said above, this isn’t the type of film that has any explosive action or thrilling suspense so there’s not much to say about the sound here. It’s a dialogue heavy feature & that’s crystal clear. The music has a nice boost to it on the tracks. It also has English SDH, French, Spanish subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features from Universal on this release. “A Supreme Team: Making On the Basis of Sex” is a little over 6 minutes. It has interviews with director Mimi Leder, writer Daniel Stiepleman, actors Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, & various members of the production. They talks about their experience working on the film. They chat about working with Mimi Leder. They go into how important Ruth Bader Ginsburg was. “Legacy of Justice” is a little over 3 minutes. It has interviews with director Mimi Leder, writer Daniel Stiepleman, actors Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Jack Reynor, Kathy Bates, Cailee Spaeny, & various members of the production. They talk about Ruth Bader Ginsburg & what she accomplished. They chat about how this case changed everything when it came to equal rights. “Martin and Ruth: A Loving Partnership” is a little over 3 minutes. It has interviews with director Mimi Leder, writer Daniel Stiepleman, actors Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Kathy Bates, Justin Theroux, & various members of the production. They chat about the real life couple. They tell stories about them & how some made it into the feature. They talk about the great chemistry between Felicity Jones & Armie Hammer. It also includes a slipcover & a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
