SPOILER ALERT for any film in the legal genre. Don’t read this if you plan to watch THE VERDICT tonight.
Ever notice that all trial movies are essentially the same? A lawyer takes on a seemingly impossible case, all the odds are stacked against him/her, the opposing attorneys are the best in the land, the judge is predisposed not to like our hero, and our hero is facing some personal issue (family or alcohol related). To make matters worse there is a sample trial or mock trial or some scene where we show our lawyer protagonist to be way in over his/her head.
If the issue resolves around an insurance company there’s usually the scene where the company is willing to settle and the poor schlep has to decide whether to take the money and walk away or fight for justice although in all likelihood he’ll then end up with nothing. Guess which path he always takes.
The big trial comes, it’s going really badly, our hero is circling the drain, and then somehow he/she pulls a rabbit out of their hat and wins the case. If you don’t believe me then “you can’t handle the truth.”
The trick is to make the movie skillful enough and enjoyable enough that you can just skim over these tropes. And that’s ON THE BASIS OF SEX. Felicity Jones plays young Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The other term you don’t automatically think of when you think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is “plucky,” but that’s how she’s portrayed here. I happen to really like Felicity Jones and I love Ruth Bader Ginsburg so I was totally on board. On Rotten Tomatoes it received a 100% audience score, which tells me the film has not opened in any Red States. The script by Daniel Stiepheman was smart (although I did get lost in some of the legalize from time to time), and TV vet Mimi Leder directed with style (good to see her out of Movie Jail after directing PAY IT FORWARD).
The screenwriter’s uncle was Martin Ginsburg (Ruth’s husband) and he comes off as the most likeable flawless character in the history of cinema (although all reports say he WAS that likeable and terrific). And apparently, Ruth gave the writer extensive notes after one of the drafts (and who can overrule a Supreme Court Justice’s notes?).
I look forward to this being adapted for television with Tea Leoni as Ruth. (although if it’s developed by the CW it’ll be Laura Benanti and she can fly).
ON THE BASIS OF SEX is worth seeing – just remember it’s about the early years of Justice Ginsburg not Kavanaugh.
from By Ken Levine
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