The film centers on heteronormative romantic structures and traditional courtship. It lacks non-cisnormative identities or any critique of heteronormativity.

Eleanor Roosevelt is portrayed with intellectual autonomy and political influence rather than domestic submission. The presence of Clare Boothe Luce adds female ambition to the political landscape.

The cast is overwhelmingly homogeneous, reflecting the white, Anglo-American socioeconomic stratum of 1939. There is almost no representation of racial or ethnic diversity.

The story focuses on the Western political establishment and the weight of institutional duty. It adheres to the social etiquette of the period without deconstructing Western institutions.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s physical disability is treated with biographical realism. The film focuses on his agency rather than using his condition as a spectacle.