Loving: A Quiet Victory

The first thing that startled me about Loving was how the events it depicts are set in the very recent past. It spans the years of 1958 to 1967, which is not very long ago, and yet somehow it was illegal for a black woman and a white man to get married. The second thing that startled me about the movie was how quiet it was. It is the story of an interracial couple's fight to have their marriage recognized by the state of Virginia, resulting in the landmark Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court ruling that would repeal anti-miscegenation laws across the United States. And yet, instead of choosing to tell the story as a sweeping court drama with impassioned speeches and Hollywood bombast, we get two quiet, perfect performances from Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton, who demonstrate how love is all you need to change the world.

Since I've already summarized the plot for you, let me go into further raptures about the central performances in this movie. Ruth Negga is a revelation as Mildred Loving. She is shy and quiet, yet has a backbone of steel when it comes to defending her marriage and her children. Mildred is the one who writes to Robert F. Kennedy and sets off the chain of events that will eventually lead to multiple court cases and the famous ruling that marked the first victory in the ongoing fight for marriage equality. Joel Edgerton, as Richard Loving, is taciturn but noble, hating the spotlight but willing to do anything for his wife and to legitimize his children who are regarded as bastards by the state of Virginia. He barely speaks during this movie, but everything about the way he interacts with Mildred speaks volumes about his love and dedication to his family.

There is a stretch in the film when the Lovings are visited by Grey Villet (played by the reliably wonderful Michael Shannon), the LIFE Magazine photographer who took the iconic pictures of the couple. These photos showcased that all-important fact: Love is love is love, and helped the country recognize that despite the color of their skin, these were simply two people in love who wanted the right to declare that love and raise their family in peace. The two of them are tested in many ways over the course of the movie - they are arrested, harassed, and humiliated by the police and the general public. But through it all, they never entertain the idea of not being together, and that dedication is what ultimately changes the world for the better.

There are very few courtroom scenes in this movie. Nick Kroll plays Bernie Cohen, the volunteer ACLU attorney who took on the Lovings' case despite having very little background in constitutional law and provides some lighter moments in the film. Apart from getting the opening of his speech to the Supreme Court, we don't see much more of the various court rulings and appeals. And that makes sense. We all know what happened, but what is more important is why it happened. By keeping the focus squarely on Mildred and Richard, writer-director Jeff Nichols ensures we understand why these anti-miscegenation laws were so inherently cruel and barbaric. It is one thing to academically understand the need for civil rights. But Loving gives you an emotional understanding of why the fight for these rights was and continues to be so important.

In 1967 we had Loving v. Virginia and in 2015 we had Obergefell v. Hodges. It's the same fight to marry who you love, and it is ridiculous that we have continued this argument well into the twenty-first century. One can only hope more people watch this poignant movie and realize that we need to stop arguing about civil rights and marriage equality once and for all.