Film Review: ‘Loving’

Jeff Nichols’ Loving is a richly acted and subtly moving portrait of a trailblazing couple.

In an age of entertainment dominated by superheroes, it can feel like even docudramas and biopics are mimicking them. So often these “important films” celebrate the extraordinary actions and courage of individuals as if they were specifically designed for greatness. While this approach can yield entertaining results, what’s often forgotten is that many of these figures are simply ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. People like Richard and Mildred Loving only set out to build a happy life together, only inadvertently changing history. And Loving, the new film telling their story, honors them by emphasizing their ordinary love and the history altering impact it had.

The film tells the story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred (Ruth Negga) an interracial couple who choose to get married in 1958 after learning they were expecting their first child. Though they receive a legal marriage license in Washington DC, when they return to their small town Virginia home, they are arrested for violating segregation laws and forced to leave the state of Virginia under penalty of incarceration. What follows is an intimate portrait both on the challenges the court’s ruling forced on their marriage and their nearly decade long battle to appeal the decision.

While the film easily could’ve turned into a history lesson or sermon, a lot of credit goes to Jeff Nichols, who wrote and directed the film, for keeping the film firmly focused on the Lovings themselves. Nichols details their affection and strength, without turning them into martyrs, with much of the film serving as a quiet testament to the life they built together. It’s particularly telling the film opens with Richard and Mildred together and never details the circumstances under which they fell in love, emphasizing their commitment to each other over a “Hollywood love story”. The film does however capture the high stakes of their situation, such as in a tense sequence where Mildred is snuck back to Virginia to give birth.

Working in tandem with Nichols to power this story are Edgerton and Negga’s performances. Edgerton captures the quiet devotion of the soft-spoken Richard in a compelling physical performance. Meanwhile Negga gives what should be a breakthrough performance at the center of the film, offering an understated portrait of this woman holding her family’s fight together.

While there is much to admire about Loving, it is not a perfect film due largely to issues of pacing. The film spends much of its opening half focusing on the Loving’s marriage and its immediate aftermath, the second half is far more reliant on montages and confusing time jumps. The second half also fails to fully integrate the ACLU’s court battle on behalf of the Lovings into the film, often feeling like an entirely different film that is frequently placed to the side. Still, Loving ultimately uses its authentic perspective and vivid performances to inspire in a way that feels grounded.

-Nathan Braun