Review of Loving (2016) by Ben B — 26 Nov 2016

Loving was written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud, Midnight Special) and stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple in 1960's Virginia arrested and banned from the state after their unlawful marriage. The couple challenged the ruling, and the case eventually went to the Supreme Court, where the marriage was unanimously approved.

This is another one of those small movies that slips under the radar until awards season, so I managed to track it down and give it a watch. Jeff Nichols, at not even 40 years old, is starting to gain traction as an up-and-coming director with this film and his two before it. Edgerton, a relatively unknown name in Hollywood, has quietly developed an impressive filmography with performances in Warrior, Black Mass, and a director/writer/actor credit for The Gift. Negga is a name I don't recognize, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have skillz that killz.

While the two leads give okay performances and the film has a great message, I was really underwhelmed by Loving. I'm of the opinion that long, sullen silences and gazes into the distance can have meaning and develop a scene when executed correctly. There are some of those in this movie that work perfectly. However, the long, sullen silences are overused to the point where I thought I was watching The Walking Dead for a while there. The lack of dialogue, while effective at times, really bogged down the pacing of this movie (the run time of 2 hours felt more like 3). I enjoyed many of the supporting cast members, especially a very limited role from Michael Shannon, but all of that was overshadowed by the laughable performance by Nick Kroll. Yes, that nick Kroll. The comedic actor decided to give drama a try as the lawyer representing the Lovings, resulting in some cringey line delivery and an obvious strain to remain sincere throughout a scene without becoming the sarcastic asshole Kroll is known to be. Comedic actors can do drama - look at Vince Vaughn today - but Kroll should stay away. The emotion of the movie was, like the pacing, very subdued. There don't need to be dramatic outbursts to make a movie interesting, but some of the key moments in the movie saw almost no reactions from the leads. Edgerton's portrayal was especially annoying in this regard.

In the end, I find myself on the outside looking in of the general consensus of Loving. A great message and solid film score are overshadowed by lackluster characters and excessive lack of dialogue. I won't say that it's unwatchable, but I don't see myself watching it again. Hopefully you enjoy it more than I did.

Final grade: C-.