Review of Loving (2016) by Warwick B — 24 Mar 2017

Based on a landmark civil rights case writer director Jeff Nichols film stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as Richard and Mildred Loving, a black and white couple who lived in Virginia in the late 1960s, when interracial marriages were still illegal. Their decision to defy bigotry and fight discriminatory laws changed history setting aside decades of racist legislation. The case of Loving v Virginia 1967 declared marriage to be one of the fundamental civil rights, a freedom not to be denied by discrimination, a judgment with far reaching consequences, including ultimately for same sex marriages.

The film tells the story of the couple's courtship as well as the legal proceedings that ensued after they got married. At a time of 'Black Lives Matter' this film could have been an angry civil rights drama, full of courtroom blood and thunder. However, Nichols choses to avoid the conventional courtroom drama in favour of an understated and moving account of two people in the face of adversity.

The Lovings are a stoic, unassuming, largely non verbal couple, conditioned to be compliant, which makes their protest all the more devastating. Both leads, who have modelled their performances closely on the real Lovings, are wonderfully good giving stunning performances as the persecuted married couple.

This romantic drama about an interracial marriage in 1960s America will devastate you softly.