Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) is a white man with many black friends and black girlfriend Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga) in 1958 rural Virginia. She gets pregnant and he marries her in D.C. They are arrested for the marriage and accept a plead for suspended 25 year sentence. In exchange, they have to leave the state or cannot stay together. They move and raise their family in D.C. Five years later, Bernie Cohen (Nick Kroll) from the ACLU answer Mildred's letter for legal help.
This is quieter than most social fight movies. It boils down to the Loving family. They are gentle people of the earth. They don't usually raise a fuss. Edgerton embodies the quiet Richard and Ruth Negga is brilliant. They really capture this loving couple. Director Jeff Nichols steers into the quietness by downplaying the court case. Even the general social upheaval is limited to the TV screen. It is really these sweet, unassuming people and the oppressive atmosphere of their situation. All the acting is great. The threat of danger is held back for the most part. They give Richard more paranoia but it's not dramatic in that way. It is a monument to the truth of love.
This is quieter than most social fight movies. It boils down to the Loving family. They are gentle people of the earth. They don't usually raise a fuss. Edgerton embodies the quiet Richard and Ruth Negga is brilliant. They really capture this loving couple. Director Jeff Nichols steers into the quietness by downplaying the court case. Even the general social upheaval is limited to the TV screen. It is really these sweet, unassuming people and the oppressive atmosphere of their situation. All the acting is great. The threat of danger is held back for the most part. They give Richard more paranoia but it's not dramatic in that way. It is a monument to the truth of love.