On the Basis of Sex

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of the few women admitted to Harvard Law, and after graduating no firm will hire her. She moves into academia, and years later finds the case that will give her a footing: Moritz. The plaintiff is a man denied a tax deduction for caring for his mother, because the law grants that right only to women. To demonstrate sex discrimination, Ginsburg deliberately picks a case where the person harmed is a man. Mimi Leder directed. Felicity Jones plays Ginsburg and Armie Hammer plays her husband Martin. Who it is for: viewers who like legal drama and are curious about the start of Ginsburg's career. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the whole of it. The film stays with one case and never reaches her time on the Supreme Court. Mimi Leder directed from a screenplay by Daniel Stiepleman, Ginsburg's nephew, which made the 2014 Black List of the best unproduced screenplays. Felicity Jones plays Ginsburg and Armie Hammer plays her husband Martin, with Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates and Sam Waterston in support. Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself appears in an uncredited cameo. Filming began in Montreal in late 2017, with a score by Mychael Danna. On a 20 million dollar budget it took 38.8 million worldwide. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 72 percent and Metacritic at 59. Critics praised Jones's performance while writing that the film is nowhere near as groundbreaking as its real-life subject. In 2021 Sarah Silverman criticised the casting, arguing that prominent Jewish female characters are never played by a Jew.