‘Heightened Scrutiny’ Review: A Transgender Attorney Heads to the Supreme Court in an Emotional and Informative Doc
Siddhant Adlakha The visual approach in “Heightened Scrutiny” — Sam Feder’s documentary following a transgender lawyer prepping for a U.S.
Supreme Court case — seems familiar at the outset. Its straightforward approach to locked-off sit-down interviews, interspersed with graphics and other B-roll footage, is hardly novel.
However, an immense amount of care and detail goes into its construction, deepening its use of traditional form and packing a powerful punch. “Heightened Scrutiny” follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, as he prepares to become the first transgender person to make arguments before the Supreme Court.
However, this superlative — while it’s certainly compared to other civil rights landmarks — is but a fleeting detail in the face of how vital the case in question might be.
