El matrimonio Loving

I'm very conflicted on how I feel about this. On one hand, I very much appreciated just how restrained and quiet this film turned out to be. It could have easily turned into a completely sentimental, over-saturated melodrama in the vein of The Help and it didn't. However, I also feel like it could have been more effective than it was. It also very much felt like Nichols was kind of on stand-by. I'm not sure if it was the mix of the period drama subject matter with someone like him as a director that made it feel a lot quieter than most films of this type, but I wanted to feel more than I did, I wanted more passion out of it. It's still a solid film and I'll see how it fares in my mind with time, but for now I say it was somewhat of a disappointment. I do think quieter films like this fare better with me the more I think about it, so I'm hopeful I'll like it a little more later on. Both Edgerton and Negga were really lovely, but I really don't see them getting nominated for an Oscar. I just think if a film is like this, the AMPAS will want something "bigger", both by the film and its actors and I just think in general everything here is way too subdued for them. It was great seeing Negga in a role so unlike her other one in Preacher and I can't wait to see more of her.

I had the chance to see this film at the Austin Film Festival, followed by a QA with the writer/director Jeff Nichols. Having already been familiar with this story from the made for television movie in 1996 starring Timothy Hutton and Lela Rochon as Richard and Mildred Loving. Many would ask why now or why remake this film? Well many people are simply unaware of this couple's story and their groundbreaking supreme court case, because it's certainly not mentioned or taught in public schools. So was the case for the writer/director, as mentioned he was not aware of their story. He carefully followed the documentary and archived records about them, while imagining what their conversations and dialogue would have been like between them. I found the landscape of the cinematography beautiful and breathtaking. The acting chemistry between Ruth Negga and Joel Edgarton was so tender and sincere, as you witness their love and vulnerabilities on screen, it makes you love the Lovings. Ruth Negga really shines as the quiet young woman who becomes the matriarch and leader of her family after watching the march on Washington DC, she decides to write a letter to then Attorney General Robert Kennedy. You see the transformation of two introverted people during the civil rights era become activists for change in their own way that is very powerful in this film. Historically many of the biracial descendants of this country's slave owning founding fathers never benefited from the wealth and privilege of the white ancestors. That is part of what what made their case was so monumental, in that it reversed segregationist slave laws that considered biracial children mongrel bastards and prohibited the rights of marriage and inheritance of interracial couples.

A few weeks ago when I reviewed "Hidden Figures" I pointed out the how absurd the racist behaviour at NASA in the 60's must have appeared to a young boy in the audience at my screening.  In many ways, "Loving" – a film that has had a lot less publicity and is a less obvious 'crowd-pleaser' – makes a useful companion piece to that film. 

It tells the true story (yes, yet ANOTHER 'true story'!) of Richard and Mildred Loving who travelled from their home town of Central Point Virginia to Washington DC where – as a mixed race couple – they could legally get married. 

However, on returning to their home state and living together as man and wife, they fell foul of the State's repulsive antimiscegenation statute which banned inter-racial marriages. The Lovings were found guilty and sentenced to a year in jail, which was suspended on the requirement that – unbelievable but true – the couple leave Virginia and not return (together) for 25 years. The film documents the fight of the couple – largely led by the feisty Mildred (Ruth Negga) – to fight the injustice, taking the case ultimately to the US Supreme Court for an historic ruling.

This was an Oscar-nominated performance by Ruth Negga and, man, is it deserved. It's a performance of such quiet understated power that it is a joy to watch. But also strong is that of Joel Egerton ("Midnight Special", "The Great Gatsby") as Richard who here adopts a largely sulky and subservient manner that contrasts beautifully with Negga's perky optimism.

I also loved the performance of Marton Csokas (Celeborn from "The Lord of the Rings"), chillingly unreasonable as the bigoted Sheriff Brooks and Michael Shannon ("Nocturnal Animals", "Midnight Special") as the Time photographer Grey Villet, capturing a classic picture that is shown (in standard 'true story' fashion) at the end of the film (and below).

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, whose "Midnight Special" last year made my top 10 of the year, this is a thoughtful and educational piece that should particularly appeal to older viewers keen to see a drama of historical importance beautifully told.

(For the graphical version of this review please visit bob-the-movie- man.com. Thanks.)

Unfortunately, I think the movie itself just doesn't work and isn't overly interesting. I can appreciate a slow movie, as long as it builds to something worthwhile. With Loving, it's slow and there's no overarching momentum. There's no fluidity. It just inches along through a collection of scenes. And these scenes end up being incredibly repetitive. Not only do we see the characters doing a lot of the same things they were doing before, but a lot of information is repeated over and over. Scenes happen that give us no new information, or repeat what we learned from an earlier scene. It's not just that some scenes needed to be cut, the entire film needed to be restructured. As it stands right now, there's no connective tissue making this a cohesive film. It's just scene after scene. And yes, there is an endgame, but it's glossed over and trivialized in the scheme of the entirety of the movie. There was just nothing captivating about this movie, nothing really reeling me in...

Before I get started with my review, let me tell you something. Love is the key to everything. If any of you have seen this film, you know the main idea of the story already. But if you haven't, let me bring you up to speed. This is a sad yet romantic film. When I watched this movie, it changed my way or at least my perspective and thinking about love. After watching it, I thought about the life I live today and I realized that without the Lovings, the world would be a much different place.

This movie is about the true story of an interracial couple who fell in love. In the beginning of the movie, we see Mr. Loving building a new home for himself and his wife. Little did they know that the police were going to soon find out about their marriage and shortly after, they would end up in jail. Back in 1967, in the state of Virginia, interracial marriages were illegal. But love has no color so Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga) and Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) decide to fight for what they believed in. When the police find out, they try to stop them. As you watch this movie, it makes you think about love, not differences. Now get this - after watching this movie some of the actors from the film came on stage and told us more about the movie. I learned that when Peggy, the Loving's daughter first meet Joel Edgerton (who plays her dad in the film), she called him daddy and began to cry.

The filming crew truly captured the reality of the times in so many ways. I recommend this film for ages 10 through 18 and older. Children 10 would not have learned about this subject yet, but when you're 10 you already start learning about the racism in their country in social studies. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars because it was better than my expectations. It has a good storyline and a good setting and, most importantly, the titles really catches the meaning of the film.

Reviewed by Kamhai B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.