Loving (5/5 Stars)

Jeff Nichols wrote and directed “Loving” a movie about the couple behind the 1968 United States Supreme Court case “Loving v. Virginia” that declared unconstitutional bans on interracial marriage. Joel Edgerton plays Richard Loving and Ruth Negga plays Mildred Loving.

“Loving” is a perfect movie about a couple of very boring people. The fact that they are boring, that Richard Loving fixes cars and lays brick and that Mildred raises her children and wants to live a simple life close to her family home seems to be best reason the American Civil Liberties Union took on their case pro bono and took it all the way to the Supreme Court. You could not come up with another less threatening pair of persons and the fact that the government is spending time and energy trying separate them is the greatest evidence of the absurdity of the government’s position.

The story goes that Richard loved Mildred and felt that the right thing to do would be to marry her. The State of Virginia believed that Richard Loving officially marrying Mildred Loving, a colored woman, was a threat to society. It would be noted that Richard and Mildred simply living together would not have provoked the arrest. Richard and Mildred Loving are arrested because they took a day trip to Washington D.C. and got a marriage certificate. Sometime after, the local police burst through their bedroom door in the middle of the night and put them both to jail. Mildred happens to be pregnant at the time. They are dragged in front of a judge that lectures them on who they should sleep with in their own bedroom in their own home. (I must admit a certain disgust, particularly as a lawyer, when I saw the Virginia courtroom scenes in this movie.)

And yet, the director, Jeff Nichols, does the story a great service by not over dramatizing the interactions between the law and the couple in such a way that makes them unbelievable for their time and place. Normal people generally act like the characters in this story act. You don’t talk back to cops and judges and here Richard and Mildred Loving are nothing but consistently polite. It only makes them that much more validated in their continual decision to challenge the law. “Loving” is a particularly engaging and effective movie not only in its argument for civil rights but simply (and probably because) as a fully developed character portrait. Surely you can watch this movie and go, “I know this person. I know that person. The government really should them alone.”

I especially liked the scenes where Mildred and Richard talk to their lawyer, here played by the comedian Nick Kroll, an inspired choice for a Jewish ACLU lawyer. All the enthusiasm for the case is on Nick Kroll’s side. Richard looks nothing but uncomfortable and wary the entire time. His decision to be in the room seems to be based entirely on his loving deference to his wife’s wishes to be there. After all, Richard doesn’t particular care about making history. All he wants to do is lay brick, work on cars, and take care of his family. These two things aren’t necessarily the same thing, and the latter is way more important to him.

Richard and Mildred Loving don’t even bother to show up to the Supreme Court to listen to the arguments. Nick Kroll asks Richard if he wants to say anything to the Judges. Richard says that Kroll should tell judges that he loves his wife. To him, that is all that matters. Nobody is hurting anybody and this whole thing is a stupid absurdity that he doesn’t feel like he should waste anymore time on. This movie goes a long way in presenting that argument in the most forceful way imaginable. “Loving” is one of the best movies of the year.