Loving (2016)

Genre

Biography | Drama | Romance

Director

Jeff Nichols

Country

USA

Cast

Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon, Jon Bass, Bill Camp, David Jensen, Terri Abney, Sharon Blackwood, Christopher Mann, Winter-Lee Holland, Alano Miller, Michael Abbott Jr.

Storyline

The story of Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), an interracial couple whose challenge of their anti-miscegenation arrest for their marriage in Virginia led to a legal battle that would end at the US Supreme Court.

Opinion

One day while I was wasting my time on YouTube I stumbled upon this film's trailer. Its theme and that little I saw of the leads immediately captured my attention. I had to see it. And here I am, months later, saying how beautiful and powerful "Loving" is.

Maybe it's because I am probably the only person who didn't know the story prior seeing this - the blame is not all on me, I live in Italy after all -, but I found myself immediately drawn into the film's true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who fell in love. Another reason could be that the filmmakers were able to tell such a intimate story without being too sentimental, and still deliver an incredibly touching story.

What's really important is that "Loving" is a film about love and as such it teaches that true, real love doesn't have a colour, and that there's no way love can be against the law. This theme is also still so relevant nowadays it's heartbreaking. It's not only the colour of the skin that people are judged on, but on their religion and sexual preferences as well. And that's a real shame.

Another strength of the film is its main characters. It's more than clear that everyone in this film worked hard to bring to life Richard and Mildred. "Bring to life" are the perfect words because they never feel like roles, but like actual people you care about. And most of the credits go to the actors, Ruth Negga who gives an emotional performance as Mildred, and Joel Edgerton who makes a good use of his quiet moments to deliver a quite strong but less emotional performance as Richard. And the chemistry between them is spectacular. As for the supporting characters, well, Jeff Nichol should have worked harder, because none of them is memorable.

At last, the film also features a beautiful and heartbreaking cinematography, and an evocative musical score that is able to transport us back in time.