Her story made history|Dec. 25, 2018|United States | China | Canada|120 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Drama;History
Description: In 1956, Ruth Bader Ginsburg begins her first year at Harvard Law School while her husband, Martin Ginsburg, a second-year student, is diagnosed with testicular cancer. Ruth attends both her classes and his, taking detailed notes and transcribing lectures while caring for Martin and their young daughter, Jane. Two years later, after Martin’s cancer goes into remission, he secures a job in New York. Ruth requests permission from Harvard Law School Dean Griswold to complete her degree at Columbia Law School in New York, but her request is denied due to university policies. She transfers to Columbia, graduating at the top of her class. However, despite her academic success, she struggles to find employment at a law firm because none are willing to hire a woman. She eventually becomes a professor at Rutgers Law School, teaching a course on “Sex Discrimination and the Law.”
In 1970, Martin brings a tax law case, Moritz v. Commissioner, to Ruth’s attention. The case involves Charles Moritz, a man from Denver who was denied a tax deduction for hiring a nurse to care for his elderly mother. The deduction was restricted to women, widowers, divorcées, or husbands with incapacitated wives, and Moritz, a single man, did not qualify. Ruth recognizes this case as an opportunity to challenge laws rooted in gender-based assumptions—specifically, the idea that men are breadwinners and women are caregivers. She believes that winning a case where a man is discriminated against based on sex could set a legal precedent for future cases involving discrimination against women. She also anticipates that an all-male appellate court might more easily relate to a male plaintiff, increasing the chances of a favorable ruling.
Cast director: Mimi Leder
Cast actor: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Sam Waterston, Kathy Bates, Cailee Spaeny, Callum Shoniker, Jack Reynor, Stephen Root, Ronald Guttman
Original name: On the Basis of Sex