On the Basis of Sex

Combine Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s judicial legacy and longevity, her influence in the current political climate, and the insightful documentary about her released just months ago, and the 85-year-old U.S. Supreme Court justice has transformed into an unlikely pop-culture icon.

The title for the biopic On the Basis of Sex is typically preceded by “discrimination” when it comes from Ginsburg, known for her dogged pursuit of gender equality through changing outdated laws.

That’s a challenge for the film, which tries to manufacture some drama out of a dry, decades-old tax case to illustrate its subject’s rise to prominence in the legal community.

So while its subject might not approve of some of the contrivances and embellishments, when you strip away the crowd-pleasing slickness, it’s a savvy and compelling character study about how her judicial influences helped to shape her ideology and career.

As the film opens, Ruth (Felicity Jones) is one of the few women admitted to Harvard Law School in 1956. She proceeds to rise to the top of her class, despite caring both for her young daughter and for her tax-attorney husband, Marty (Armie Hammer), while he battles cancer.

However, despite her potential, she fails to land a job offer from any of the elite New York law firms, who are essentially afraid to hire her. Instead she engages in grunt work behind the scenes, eventually aligning herself with discrimination causes as the feminist movement takes hold.

She makes a breakthrough thanks to one of Marty’s cases, involving a Colorado man (Chris Mulkey) who was denied a tax deduction, based on his gender, as a single male caregiver to his aging mother. The litigation winds up reaching the Supreme Court, of course.

Jones (The Theory of Everything) offers a committed and heartfelt portrayal that’s more the simple mimicry, as the British actress emphasizes her character’s strengths while also exposing her insecurities.

Rookie screenwriter Daniel Stiepleman — Ginsburg’s real-life nephew — takes a straightforward approach that lacks subtlety with respect to her struggles with the glass ceiling. It’s too hagiographic and could benefit from a tighter focus.

As directed by Mimi Leder (Deep Impact), the film salutes Ginsburg’s enduring work ethic and resilience, first and foremost. At least it generally captures the spirit of its subject, whose commitment to justice and tenacity in the face of obstacles yields plenty of contemporary relevance.

Rated PG-13, 120 minutes.