By Darlene
Donloe
In 1958, two
people fell in love and got married. It happens all the time. No big deal,
right? Wrong! It was a very big deal.
You see, Richard
was a white man. His bride, Mildred, was a Negro. Their interracial love and
then marriage was taboo in Virginia at the time.
Ironically, the
couple’s last name is, of all things, Loving.
The true story of
the couple’s relationship and, ultimate groundbreaking Supreme Court ruling, is
told in the Focus Feature film, Loving, out
in select cities November 4.
The movie opens
in 1958, when the couple is dating. When
Mildred gets pregnant, Richard takes her to Washington, D.C. where they are
legally able to get married. The only problem is, Virginia doesn’t recognize the
marriage and jails the couple upon their return.
Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton portray Mildred and Richard Loving
The local court
rules that the couple can’t reside in the state of Virginia at the same time
for the next 25 years. If they do
return, they will be jailed for one year. Theirs was a forbidden love.
The problems
continue for years until the couple gets a call from a lawyer with the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who wants to take their case to the Supreme Court.
The result is
the 1967 civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia. It that year the Supreme Court
reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry, making the Loving’s love
story an inspiration to couples everywhere.
(l-r) Alano Miller, Terri Abney, Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton star in Loving
The film
celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of Richard and Mildred Loving
(Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), who married and then spent the next nine years
fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown.
Director Jeff
Nichols has created an impactful film that successfully creates a feel for the
times. He gets solid performances out of
his entire cast led by Joel Edgerton (Richard Loving) and Ruth Negga (Mildred
Loving).
Negga delivers
a performance that reveals a quiet strength and headstrong resolve. It brings
Mildred’s personality to life. All she wants is to love her man and raise their
three children in her hometown of Central Point, Virginia. Edgerton’s portrayal
of Richard, a low-key-don’t-want-to-make-waves construction worker, is
emotional and understated. The chemistry
between Negga and Edgerton is palpable.
The real Mildred and Richard Loving
The movie is
quietly powerful. Surprisingly, it doesn’t even come close to showing the fury
and unrighteousness of the time. Very little anger is shown on the part of the
Black people, or Negroes, during a time that considered them less than. While it did show white law enforcement being
rather indignant about the Loving’s relationship, it didn’t convey the outrage
on the part of the rest of the white population. There was no real violence or
name-calling. Instead, Nichols’ period
piece slowly unwraps an effective, sensitive story that came to literally change
the face of America.
Loving stars Joel Edgerton (The Gift, The Great Gatsby, Kinky
Boots) and Ruth Negga (AMC’s Preacher, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.),
and is directed by Jeff Nichols (“Midnight Special”, “Mud”, “Take Shelter”). It
also stars Terri Abney, Alano Miller, Michael Shannon, Nick Kroll, Sharon
Blackwood and Marton Csokas.
VIEW TRAILER: here.
MPAA Rating: PG-13; Running time: 123 min.
On the DONLOE
SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (need work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah)
and E (excellent), Loving gets an O
(oh, yeah).
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