Lilly stars Patricia Clarkson as Lilly Ledbetter. This part biopic, part documentary, film was directed by Rachel Feldman. Lilly Ledbetter became well known because of her battle with the Goodyear Tire Company over equal pay.

Lilly worked for Goodyear starting in 1979. For almost 20 years she suffered harassment, mistreatment, bullying, and unfair pay. She didn’t know she was only making about half what the men were making in her same position until she was leaving the job.

When she found out, she went to a lawyer. At first, her lawyer, Jon Goldfarb (Thomas Sadoski), told her she needed evidence she didn’t have to make a case.

Someone slipped the evidence in her locker and she took it back to Goldfarb, who agreed to take the case.

As you may know, the case went to the Supreme Court. She lost on a technicality. Lilly never got a dime from Goodyear. But her fight wasn’t over, because she went to Congress to fight for laws about equal pay for equal work.

Ultimately, President Barack Obama signed The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act on his first day in office in 2009.

As much as I love Lilly Ledbetter’s David and Goliath story, I thought this rendition of her story was not as concentrated on her story as it should have been. Instead we were shown famous people such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama who supported Lilly. They were given praise and prominence for supporting her. Was this Lilly’s story or her supporters’ story?

Lilly’s relationship with her husband Charles (John Benjamin Hickey) was explored well enough, but her relationship with her children (played by Bethany Anne Lind and Will Pullen) was truncated to the point of meaninglessness.

I wanted more of Lilly – her doubts, fears, courage, and determination. Especially her determination. This singular woman got a law enacted that mandated equal pay for women doing the same job as men. That’s a remarkable story.

Despite the law, women still only make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes, and it’s even less for women of color. As Lilly pointed out in the film, that makes a huge difference over a lifetime in lost social security earnings, lost retirement earnings, and lost personal savings.

You can see this one on Netflix. I’d love to hear what you thought about it if you watch it.