15 most memorable and overlooked films of 2018

On the Basis of Sex

I’ve praised Mimi Leder’s On the Basis of Sex extensively already, but why not include it on this list? Earlier this year we got the delightful documentary RBG, showing us the life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The doc, directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, was a fantastic overview of “the notorious RBG’s” life, past and present.

Now, we have the narrative feature laying out a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s (played by Felicity Jones) life, leading to her first major court case on sex discrimination. In between all that, we watch Ginsburg as she navigates the various relationships in her life, including with her own feminist daughter, Jane (Cailee Spaeny).

The movie isn’t without flaws, but in a year where the justice system wreaked havoc on women’s emotions, On the Basis of Sex fills a void. Jones’ portrayal of RBG is tenacious, and though she often slips on the accent, it’s really marginal when the life of the real RBG is so compelling. Complementing her is Armie Hammer’s pitch-perfect performance as Marty Ginsburg, aka the best husband to ever exist. Leder’s capable directing turns On the Basis of Sex into a rousing clarion call that we can all use right now.