LOVING
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In many ways, Jeff Nicols’ disturbing drama Loving is a perfect companion to Hidden Figures in its exploration of racial tension in America’s south.
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Set in comparable periods, both are true stories and while the latter reveals women whose lives made a difference, the former is a more modest account of a couple trying to make a difference in their lives.
Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton delivering a master class in subtlety) falls in love with Mildred (the Oscar nominated Ruth Negga) at a time when neither society nor state would tolerate such passions. Living together, much less marriage, was far beyond question unless the couple were to head north and leave Virginia, their families, their friends and their home, far behind. Yet neither was willing to abide by the law and their case was soon picked up by civil liberties groups heading for the Supreme Court. The rest is history.
Loving’s success lies in its resolute pace, its gravity and its subtlety. See above re Edgerton but also Nicols’ measured direction of his own script and Negga’s restrained performance. They come together to create a slow-burn experience, a brooding atmosphere that eschews hysterics to focus on the pain, and love, that the couple share in their fight for basic human rights. That tone gives their suffering greater resonance with their calls for understanding tumbling down through history: today’s ongoing fight for marriage equality adds emphasis to their story in unexpected yet oddly tangible ways. Adam Stone’s unassuming cinematography significantly enhances that experience.
Like Hidden Figures, Loving is a period piece that retains the power to speak through the ages, and speak about the things that really matter. In this case loving who you want to love, and being able to marry who you love, without fear or reprisal. Even in their gravest moments, and much of the Loving’s story is defined by mirthless circumstance, their dignity shines through. It’s what makes Loving so compelling. Proof that it’s usually the simplest things in human endeavour that matter most.
// COLIN FRASER
Previewed at Sony Theatre, Sydney, on 21 November 2016
Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton delivering a master class in subtlety) falls in love with Mildred (the Oscar nominated Ruth Negga) at a time when neither society nor state would tolerate such passions. Living together, much less marriage, was far beyond question unless the couple were to head north and leave Virginia, their families, their friends and their home, far behind. Yet neither was willing to abide by the law and their case was soon picked up by civil liberties groups heading for the Supreme Court. The rest is history.
Loving’s success lies in its resolute pace, its gravity and its subtlety. See above re Edgerton but also Nicols’ measured direction of his own script and Negga’s restrained performance. They come together to create a slow-burn experience, a brooding atmosphere that eschews hysterics to focus on the pain, and love, that the couple share in their fight for basic human rights. That tone gives their suffering greater resonance with their calls for understanding tumbling down through history: today’s ongoing fight for marriage equality adds emphasis to their story in unexpected yet oddly tangible ways. Adam Stone’s unassuming cinematography significantly enhances that experience.
Like Hidden Figures, Loving is a period piece that retains the power to speak through the ages, and speak about the things that really matter. In this case loving who you want to love, and being able to marry who you love, without fear or reprisal. Even in their gravest moments, and much of the Loving’s story is defined by mirthless circumstance, their dignity shines through. It’s what makes Loving so compelling. Proof that it’s usually the simplest things in human endeavour that matter most.
// COLIN FRASER
Previewed at Sony Theatre, Sydney, on 21 November 2016
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STARRING
Ruth Negga
Joel Edgerton
Will Dalton
DIRECTOR
Jeff Nicols
SCREENWRITER
Jeff Nicols
COUNTRY
USA
CLASSIFICATION
PG
RUNTIME
122 minutes
AUSTRALIAN
RELEASE DATE
March 16, 2017
Ruth Negga
Joel Edgerton
Will Dalton
DIRECTOR
Jeff Nicols
SCREENWRITER
Jeff Nicols
COUNTRY
USA
CLASSIFICATION
PG
RUNTIME
122 minutes
AUSTRALIAN
RELEASE DATE
March 16, 2017
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