Following the roughly five-year period in California that saw the state invalidate gay marriage with Proposition 8 in 2010 through to its being overturn, The Case Against 8 is simultaneously a lesson in history and politics as well as an personal drama.

Both have their appeal and strengths, as the documentary talks to both the lawyers involved and the two gay couples who assume the role of plaintiffs in the case.

Their intimate stories will tug at the heartstrings of some, and they are meant to. Both couples were heavily vetted ahead of the case, and thus the documentary is sort of piggy-backing on the selection of charming, smart, representative, heteronormative couples that were to be the face of this push.

It’s the political side that is much more interesting, and it’s all due to Ted Olson.

He is the conservative lawyer, a man who fought on the winning Republican side of Bush v. Gore to decide the 2000 election, who has taken up this cause in favor of gay marriage. Shunned by Republicans and believed to be a mole by Democrats, Olson is a fascinating figure to watch argue for this cause, and his actions are made even more astounding because he is teaming up with David Boies, the lawyer he beat in Bush v. Gore.

The point-by-point dissection of the case by Boies and Olson is remarkable, and while there is a strong emotional component to the overlong film, the lawyers, who’d have thought, are the stars.

[star v=3]