On the Basis of Sex review roundup: What the critics are saying about the Felicity Jones-starring Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic

'Well-intentioned but flawed'

Armie Hammer and Felicity Jones in 'On the Basis of Sex' (Focus Features)

The reviews for On the Basis of Sex have been released, with the Felicity Jones-starring biopic receiving a mixed reception from critics.

The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor plays Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was the second ever female justice in the United States.

"On the Basis of Sex rightfully honours Ginsburg’s place in history, but in its efforts to hammer home the magnitude of her accomplishments, it ends up making them feel more like sentimental plot points in a whitewashed Hollywood script than truly resonant moments," writes Maureen Lee Lenker for EW.

"It’s telling that the most powerful scene in the entire film is not Ginsburg’s clear-eyed courtroom speech or one of her attempts to connect with her daughter over second-wave feminism, but rather the brief cameo of the real Ginsburg at the film’s close."

Richard Brody, writing for New Yorker, opines: "The movie, written by Daniel Stiepleman, sacrifices character for intricate, and often fascinating, behind-the-scenes legal manoeuvres, and emphasises, above all, the role of social activism."

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian offers an equally middling review: "On the Basis of Sex is a solid, often impassioned film, but too often its worst instincts take over, and cliches stack up faster than legal documents. Ginsburg’s legacy will endure, but it’s questionable as to whether this film will survive with her."

Roger Ebert's Nell Minow was more positive about the biopic, praising the chemistry between Jones and Amie Hammer (Martin D Ginsburg), and director Mimi Leder: "Director Mimi Leder has an eye for telling detail and a sure sense of pacing, especially in the scenes with the Ginsburg’s teen-age daughter Jane (Cailee Spaeny), whose own spirited feminism shows her mother that it is time for the law to catch up with the culture."

Likewise, Time praise the duo but called the film flawed: "This well-intentioned movie is a somewhat flawed one: its pace is a little slack, and sometimes it feels too predictably prepackaged. But Jones and Hammer keep the picture moving even through its shakier phases."

The Hollywood Reporter is more damning: "The dramatic approach here is clear, efficient and entirely on-the-nose, with little time for anything that might distract from the hagiographic effort in play. Its sole purpose is to ennoble and proclaim a hero, which its subject almost certainly is. But it makes for notably simplified drama."

On the Basis of Sex reaches US cinemas on the 25 December and UK cinemas 4 January 2019.