Loving: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Loving is a true story about an interracial couple in the late 1950s who violates the law in Virginia prohibiting interracial marriage, and takes their case to the Supreme Court. Richard (Joel Edgarton) and Mildred (Ruth Negga), a white man and black woman, were forced to marry in Washington, D.C. in 1958 and were arrested upon return to their home town of Central Point, Virginia for violating the state’s anti-miscegenation laws. The couple had to leave the state for the next 25 years and moved to D.C., unable to travel back home together. After a few years, they grew frustrated having to live away from their families, and Mildred wrote a letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy protesting the restriction. The case was then referred to the ACLU and brought to the Supreme Court, which led to the legalization of interracial marriage in all 50 states in 1967.

Viewers may have expected the film to be a bit more dramatic and emotional, but it’s subtlety still had a powerful impact. The audience gets to see the story of a low-key couple who are deeply in love and just want to raise their family in peace, but are plagued by the fact that the law in their hometown says that their children are considered “bastards” and should not exist. Except for one climactic scene which is sure to guarantee Joel Edgerton an Oscar nomination, the film is a linear narrative which primarily consists of the Lovings participating in typical family rituals with their children. The film showcases the simplicity of a family living their lives conventionally, barring the only issue of the couple being of different races, reinforcing the significance of the right to love.   

Check out the trailer below. Loving comes to theaters tomorrow!

#JoelEdgarton #Loving #RuthNegga