Companion viewing
"Adam's Rib" (1949)
"First Monday in October" (1981)
"She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry" (2014)
Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the subject of the new documentary "RBG" that opens Friday at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas, Arclight La Jolla and Angelika Film Center.
Without flamboyance but with eloquence and fierce determination, Ruth Bader Ginsberg became a powerful advocate for gender equality. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton. When she was confirmed in 1993, she became the second female Supreme Court Justice.
The documentary "RBG" serves up archival materials and interviews with friends, colleagues and the justice herself to create a compelling portrait of Bader Ginsberg. The film opens with a montage of voices critical of Bader Ginsberg but after that co-directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West pretty much gush over their subject as they chronicle the challenges she faced as a woman entering law at a time when it was male dominated.
At one point early in the film a friend refers to Bader Ginsberg as a deep thinker, but that’s where the film falls short. Filmmakers Cohen and West provide a broad overview of Bader Ginsberg’s life and work but without any real insights or passion. Fortunately, the film’s subject is more than capable of holding our attention.
