RBG (2018)

I have two tests for a documentary; do I learn something and am I emotionally moved? If a doc can make me say “yes” to both then I am satisfied.

RBG gives a fairly good career overview of Ruth Baer Ginsberg’s accomplishments, but that isn’t really what the film is about. RBG is about showing us the human behind the legend. It is easy to see public figures as something less than truly human, something that amounts only to the public statements and actions of that person. It is easy to forget there is a living breathing human behind it all.

RBG starts with comments by Badger Ginsberg’s detractors calling her all sorts of names but quickly leaves that behind to focus instead on the woman herself. The film decides not to go in the direction of making a case against her detractors. Very much like RBG herself, the film instead makes their case for her. It trumpets her accomplishments but mostly focuses on her personally. She is a charming, professional in RBG and impossible not to fall for.

The film spends a great deal of time on her relatinoship with her husband and partner who was one of her greatest cheerleaders. The film skips over quite quickly the sadness of her life, the loss of her mother and sister early in her life, the challenges of being a woman in a male dinubated profession. The film remains overly optimistic and glowing.

But despite the rose colod glasses approach the film certainly taught me a lot about the woman behind the robe. It also truly inspired. It makes it clear to anyone watching, just how special a person she is, regardless of whether you agree with her or not. In fact her film spends time giving a voice to those who oppose her yet still sing her praises.

So as a fan of her work, RBG was even more inspiring. It is nice to be reminded of the person who has done all that good work for America.
                                     
RBG
Directors: Betsy West, Julie Cohen