A film with high ideals that just doesn't click

Let's face it: It's nearly impossible to build a good, cinematic drama about lawyers building case, even a landmark case, to overturn an obscure section of the revenue code, with the much broader aim of establishing a precedent in law for barring discrimination "on the basis of sex." The reality is that any such legal action involves lots of boring research and endless conferences and tedious, arcane legal arguments. Mimi Leder team behind the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex, give it their best, but sadly the arcane legal arguments are elusive and static and the attempts to make the legal profession bright and dramatic tend to fall flat and have the effect of making the movie feel fake and scripted rather than lived and true to life. The ideals behind this project are great, and it's eye-opening to learn how long it took to get sex- or gender-discrimination recognized in U.S. law; the various scenes of the prejudice RBG faced in law school and in her first job search are well played and help us see the obstacles she (and thousands of other women) had to overcome just to enter, let alone prosper, in the profession. And the best scene by far, in my view, was the "mock trial" at which RBG prepares for her key arguments before the District Court, in which she is pushed by the mock justices to and beyond her limits. But some of the scenes are so heavy-handed - even if loosely based on truth - that they almost undermine the whole project - especially the attempt to portray the Harvard law dean (played by SamWaterston, an unlikely heavy). Further, there is absolutely zero chemistry between the leads, Felicty Jones as RBG and Armmie Hammer as her supportive husband; her attempt to talk Brooklyn is almost comical, and he's probably twice her height. Most of us who see this film will be right on board w/ its politics and hoping that this is at least for the most part an historical drama rather than a depiction of the current state of the law and the legal profession, and all of us with the real RBG (on screen for a moment toward the end of the film) at least 6 more years of great health - but noble ideals don't necessarily make for a good picture, in fact, sometimes quite the opposite, as all they do is confirm us in our current beliefs rather than push us to think.