‘RBG’ coming to Harbor Theater

Thu, 05/10/2018 - 7:30am

Story Location:
185 Townsend Avenue
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
United States

“RBG,” the critically-acclaimed new biographical film about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, will be at Harbor Theater Friday, May 18 through Thursday, May 24.

At the age of 85, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. Her trailblazing work for women’s rights has led Millenials and MeToo! movement members to extoll her virtues on Twitter and Tumblr, stock up on RBG T-shirts and tote bags and, in extreme cases, get tattoos — big, permanent, multi-color tattoos — of her face.

Until now, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans. Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen filmed her in her office, on vacation with her family, and working out with her personal trainer.

They also began tracking down the dramatic stories of the clients she represented as a young lawyer arguing before the Supreme Court in the 1970s. West and Cohen said, “We want audiences to see for themselves the Notorious RBG in action — staying up late into the night crafting blistering dissents and doing the planks, squats and push-ups that keep her in shape to do the job she loves.”

“It was three years ago, January 2015, that we first had the idea of making a feature documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” said Emmy-Award winning Director West. Both she and co-director Cohen had interviewed the Justice for film or TV projects in the past, and had both admired her trailblazing work for women’s rights. But talking about the RBG phenomenon one day, the two women agreed “we need to make a documentary about Justice Ginsburg right now,” West said.

Justice Ginsburg had suffered through earlier days when women were not considered capable of serving on the Supreme Court, or any court, for that matter. As the only female member of her Harvard Law School class, she could not get a job after graduating. But she remembered her mother’s advice: “anger is a waste of time.” Eventually, she was able to use her formidable legal skills to fight for justice for women--a fight she has continued through five decades.

The film is rated PG and runs 95 minutes. “RGB” plays at 7 p.m. Friday, May 18, Saturday, May 19,  Wednesday, May 23. The 2 p.m. matinees will be shown on Sunday, May 20 and Thursday, May 24.

Reviewing the film for Slate, Dahlia Lithwick said, “This is more than just the predictable story of who Ginsburg was and who she has become. It’s also a monument to the formal written legal legacy that transcends her own life story and changed a nation.”