Dyer reviews “On the Basis of Sex”

The newly released movie On the Basis of Sex is about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the most influential figures of the entire women’s movement. She was a lawyer who won countless cases in support of women. She directed the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Later, she was also appointed as a Supreme Court Justice, only the second woman to ever be appointed to such a position. And she is still serving today at the age of 85.

The actress chosen to play this influential and important woman is Felicity Jones, who is primarily known for her leading role in a recent movie in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One. Despite her incredible performance in Rogue One, she has been officially recognized more for her performance in the 2014 movie The Theory of Everything, for which she received over 20 award nominations, including a nomination for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. To put it simply, she is an excellent actress and a good choice to play the part of the formidable Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The movie begins with Ginsburg walking into Harvard Law School among hundreds of men, and her the only woman in sight. Each man is wearing a dark suit, but Ginsburg is wearing a blue that seems vibrant in comparison. This scene serves to emphasize how much Ginsburg stands out among the overwhelmingly male population of Harvard. This is accurate, because in real life she was one of only nine women in her graduating class.

Throughout various scenes in the movie, it is established that the female Harvard students are treated very differently when compared to the males, and not in a good way. Complications arise and Ruth Bader Ginsburg is forced to move to New York and study at Columbia for her final year of law school. After graduating at the top of her class in both universities, she seeks out a lawyer position. She goes to many firms, but each one rejects her simply because she is a woman.

The movie largely focuses on one court case, the case that began Ginsburg’s crusade against sex-based discrimination. Although most certainly not one of Ginsburg’s best known cases, Moritz v. Commissioner provided the very basis for the entire legal aspect of the women’s movement.

Not only does this movie inform the audience about the beginning of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s illustrious career, it also lets them know about how the women’s movement developed. This movie is relevant today, with the pay for women and men still being unequal. Although we as a country have taken large steps since the beginning of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s career, there is still a long way to go before men and women can be said to be completely equal.