On the Basis of Sex

2018 Directed by Mimi Leder

Her story made history

Young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of sex discrimination.

Felicity Jones Armie Hammer Justin Theroux Sam Waterston Kathy Bates Cailee Spaeny Callum Shoniker Jack Reynor Stephen Root Ronald Guttman Chris Mulkey Gary Werntz Francis X. McCarthy Ben Carlson Ruth Bader Ginsburg Amanda MacDonald Karl Graboshas Angela Galuppo Joe Cobden Dawn Ford Michael Dickson Holly Gauthier-Frankel Jeff Lillico Arthur Holden Gabrielle Graham Wendy Crewson

Alternative Titles

온 더 베이시스 오브 섹스, Suprema, La voz de la igualdad, 法律女王, Una cuestión de género, La Voz de la Igualdad

drama history

120 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Matt Singer 5

On the basis of sex bay bee
Let’s talk about RBG
Let’s talk about all the good laws
And the bad laws
And equality
On the basis uhhhhhhhf sex
On the basis of sex
Review by Karsten Runquist ★★ 10

Pretty sure the score was ripped straight from Law & Order
Review by Lucy ★★½ 5

AFI 2018: film #1
“the law is wrong”
i’m growing tired of the same cookie cutter way of making biopics. this isn’t really a bad movie, but the second half lags a lot and it feels really simplistic in a dull way. given a choice, i’d choose the rbg documentary that came out earlier this year

edit: they say the phrase “on the basis of sex” at LEAST 7 times. i counted. it was a lot
Review by issy 🥝 ★★★

i should do a proper review but i'm tired so i just wanna say that armie hammer has very hairy arms so i'm changing his name to hairy armer if you could all follow suit that'd be helpful
Review by eely ★★★

rbg: women have rights!!!!
armie hammer: you’re doing amazing sweetie!!!!!
Review by isabel ✨ ★★★½ 3

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

the armie hammer swedish tax laws monologue in this is the armie hammer apricot etymology monologue of 2018
Review by sophie ★★★ 1

rbg went to harvard, also went to her husband's lessons whilst he was sick, and raised a child all at the same time and i can't even remember the order of the alphabet without singing the song
Review by Tyler 'Llewyn' ★★ 1

something fucking hilarious about armie hammer rebranding himself as the feminist woke bae with this movie
Review by Cameron Kanachki ★★★½ 15

A flawed but good biopic of an extraordinary woman. I hope Ruth Bader Ginsburg lives long enough to see the end of Donald Trump’s horrific presidency. We need her to outlive it.
Review by Isaac Feldberg ★★ 2

"it's not a privilege, it is a cage, and these laws are the fucking BARS, motherfucker"
reader, i regret to inform you this is one weird-ass biopic. i present the strangest moments, ranked:
1. in his first scene, justin theroux dances around the aclu, slapping his knees as he at length performs a (self-written?) song entitled, i fuck you not, "i'm a nut"
2. felicity's brooklyn accent is just her normal british accent but while pretending her jaw's been wired shut
3. felicity and armie hammer's foreplay is just them fetishizing their height difference with sweet nothings like "you're so short" and "why don't you come down here"
[a/n: i would do the exact same thing were i married to armie hammer]
4. a)…
Review by maddie ★★★

armie hammer: because we’re gentlemen of harvard!!!
felicity jones: uhhh wrong movie bruh
Review by nadia ★★★★

they finally released the other armie hammer and turns out he’s a second wave feminist

Recent reviews

Review by katiedurow ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

This movie was just... *chef’s kiss*. I am a simp for historical movies, and Felicity Jones portrayed RBG as so smart, steadfast, and unwilling to let anyone stand in her way. I have never seen such badassery in the court room as what I witnessed in this movie. Plus the scene at the end where Felicity Jones turns into RBG had me in happy, inspired tears. She truly was such an amazing woman who defeated all odds in her fight to achieve gender equality. In conclusion, this movie filled me with liberal rage and I am now ready to stand up to the patriarchy and any other societal norms which get in my way.
Review by Amanda 🐼 ★★

Not enough Kathy Bates.
Review by honnebunny 1

Bra historie dårlig film
Review by Carletto92 ★★★

Bel biopic sulla storia di Ruth Ginsburg, una delle 5 donne membri della corte Suprema . Girato in maniera scolastica ma efficace. Carino! Pieno anche di retorica ma ,visto l’argomento, ci sta.
Review by ibeckjo ★★★★★

Felicity Jones did a great job portraying the legendary RBG
Review by Carlos Eduardo L. " Cadu " ★★★★

Adoro filme de tribunal que aparecem as estratégias dos advogados , e esse tem um fator bem único sobre igualdade de gênero. Então o filme deixa você bem imersivo e ativo nas altas emoções que ele quer que você proporcione.

Nota: 8.8/10
Review by Nick Laskin

Watched for my final semester of grad school. Hearing Felicity Jones employ a terrifying faux-Jewish accent (“your honor” becomes “YUHR AHNUH”) is why we should have probably hired a Jewish actress to play one of the most famous Jewish women in history? Just a thought. Justin Theroux, unsurprisingly, is fantastic.
Review by Daniel Starcevich ★★★½

Very solid stuff here. It's not flashy or overly grand, but 'On the Basis of Sex' tells a vital story with a deft hand and a broad appeal.
Review by Omar_Caceres ★★★

#LaVozDeLaIgualdad más que un biopic es una muestra de los primeros años de la jueza Ruth Ginsburg. Una historia que expone el camino recorrido por ella para que se vuelva trascendental en la historia moderna, pero no consigue que su relato lo haga también, perdiéndose en los obvios e innecesarios subrayados.
Por ratos tediosa, sobretodo en su primera hora, logra enganchar conforme va encadenando sucesos hasta un discurso final de Ginsburg brillante. El papel de los hombres tiene sentido teniendo en cuenta las décadas en las que está ambientada la película (50’s,60´s, 70’s) y es normal que los coloquen como los “malos” de la historia, aunque por suerte, y gracias a Ruth, eso comenzó ha cambiar. El papel del hombre…
Review by emilypendleton ★★★

You don't get to tell me when to quit.
Review by Courtney Butterworth ★★★★★ 1

I watched this with Lauren because she bought it and said I could t go another day without watching it. She was right... It was so overwhelmingly empowering not only for women but also anyone who is losing faith in chasing their dreams. EQUALITY ISNT A LINEAR EASY BATTLE BUT ITS SO FUCKING WORTH EVERY BATTLE. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an amazing woman and I hope to one day have at least half of the courage, strength, and confidence she had in my lifetime.
Review by Matt Whelan ★★★½

"Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
While Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex definitely isn't a perfect biopic, it does well enough to show us the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg's early career as a law student who later becomes an attorney and her first major case, paving the way for her efforts in women's rights and gender discrimination.
Felicity Jones and Armie Hammer are fantastic to watch, the latter even surprising me because I'm not generally a fan of him outside of his role in David Fincher's The Social Network. Jones brings to life such an iconic figure in our history with a decent…