Loving (2016)

Review

123min

Genre:         Fact-based, Drama, Romance

Director:      Jeff Nichols

Cast:           Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton…and more

Writer:        Jeff Nichols

-Synopsis-

In late 1950s rural Virginia, Richard and Mildred Loving draw the ire of the local authorities for having the temerity to get married and live as an unassuming interracial couple. But after being charged with violating a ‘Racial Integrity’ act in the segregated American south, a long struggle ensues for their civil rights in this biographical drama from writer/director Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special, Mud), based on a true story.

Having made an impressive start to a filmmaking career built on captivating indie drama/thrillers and even Sci-fi over the last decade, Nichols turns pen and camera to real events in recent US history but stays true to his cinematic roots in the American south, crafting this tender love story and understated family drama about an unassuming couple who inadvertently helped to change their county’s society, affecting the lives of millions of people nearly sixty years later.

Ruth Negga stars as Mildred Loving, a sweet and unassuming black southern girl from a loving family, alongside Joel Edgerton as humble and stoic white man of few words but strong character Richard Loving; simple folk who shunned the limelight but were thrust upon it when their marriage fell afoul of discriminatory state laws, turning their lives upside down and eventually escalating to a constitutional legal case which reached the American supreme court and changed the laws of an entire nation.

The film begins with the Lovings and their early life together in Virginia, with cinematographer Adam Stone once again returning to provide the striking views of southern US landscapes that have become the signature of a Jeff Nichols movie. The narrative then moves to Washington DC with the Lovings living in virtual exile from their home state, before returning to their roots to raise a family while in constant fear of persecution and prosecution from the state authorities, until two ambitious ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) lawyers make the couple national figures and their predicament a landmark 1960s legal battle.

Unlike most racially charged films about historical segregation in America, ‘Loving’ is not a tense and grueling drama which dwells on the brutal realities of racial oppression. No doubt the injustices in the story will provoke righteous indignation, as they should, but Nichols’ focus is on subtly depicting this tender real life love story of two humble and decent people, which just happened to unfold in the context of events which changed American society and in the backdrop of a nation which was still deeply racially divided by law… well into the 20th century.

Although the film does hit some of the familiar story beats that we’ve come to expect from American dramas about racial division and the struggle for civil rights, ‘Loving’ approaches  its core themes from a unique perspective while staying true to the story of the Loving family. As a result this might play like a rather sedate drama for some audiences, who might be in constant anticipation of some major dramatic twist or sudden narrative turn which never really comes, and it might border on a dull experience for those expecting a rousing sermon or something to rage against.

For us Nichols’ approach is a rather unique and welcome take on both the civil rights drama and the interracial love story, amounting to a genuinely touching depiction of their struggle to raise a family and protect them from a society which not only didn’t recognise their union, but which legally considered their mixed-race children as illegitimate, making their reluctant fight a struggle not only for civil rights and social justice, but for downright dignity too.

With a rather simple but captivating narrative and a subdued tone it falls to the central performances to really make this film work, and thankfully they do just that with Irishwoman Ruth Negga earning her welcome if unexpected Oscar nomination and Australian Joel Edgerton equally impressing, with both making completely believable Virginians while supported by a mostly unknown but accomplished cast.

In the current toxic socio-political climate of division, which casts a shadow over the US and indeed the Western world, any film about civil rights or social justice is bound to have some resonance… and ‘Loving’ has plenty of that. Not only does it feed into the discussion of racial division still rearing its ugly head, but this very story and the case involved helped to define marriage as a basic right for all in the US, and contributed to the case which guaranteed same sex marriage in 2015. Perhaps the most important message of the film though is the notion that humble everyday people like the Lovings can still be the catalysts for change, and one which affects more people than they could ever know.

The Bottom Line…

More unconventional period family drama and tender true life romance than fiery civil rights melodrama, ‘Loving’ is a simple but moving personal story and eye-opening little history lesson, thanks mainly to the understated but compelling performances from its two leads and the restrained hand of its writer/director. While it may not be a rallying cry which sets pulses racing, this is still a culturally resonant tale of civil rights and human dignity which further qualifies Jeff Nichols as the modern cinematic mouthpiece of the American south.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Selma (2015)

David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr. in a biographical drama set during a particular period of the American Civil Rights movement, where a socio-political struggle for equal voting rights in the south led to the legendary Alabama march from Selma to the state capital Montgomery.

Directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo and Tom Wilkinson among others.

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