[rating=5.00]
There are certain aspects of entertainment we’re wired to automatically love. It’s part of being a human with a soul, and not to ostracize all you soulless mongrels out there, but it’s honestly a delightful feeling. Try to get through the first five minutes of Disney’s Up without crying, I dare you. It’s those manipulative heart tugs that generally get us, taking the time to set up a scene in which we’re destined to bawl like babies to deal with what’s happening. When it comes to bio-pics the feeling worsens, primarily because not only are we expected to swallow said feels, but we’re explicitly told that this is a thing that happened once in real-life.
Then there’s Loving, the latest from Jeff Nichols’ line of pretty to look at/almost emotionally evocative films.
Telling the true story of Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple living in Virginia in the late 50’s, the film takes us through their plight and eventual victory over their oppressors. Richard (Joel Edgerton) having grown up with black friends (and essentially family) naturally doesn’t think twice when he falls in love with Mildred (Ruth Negga), a black woman who runs in his circle. The two conceive a child together, and Richard takes her up to DC in to make their union legal. While Richard is aware of the illegality of their marriage in their home state, nothing will stop him from celebrating his love for his wife. After living in bliss for what seems like mere moments, the two are arrested in the middle of the night for engaging in an interracial relationship. After acquiring a lawyer, the two then fight the system where they’re prompted to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Now, on paper, this should be a heart wrenching tale of an unending love that literally changed the way things are run in the US. Unfortunately, Nichols flatlines on a beautiful canvas, choosing pretty imagery over substance in his shallow film. The acting is no doubt superb, but there’s an obvious lacking when it comes to the script they were given. While it’s a true story, it’s like he took three moments from Richard and Mildred’s life and attempted to stretch them out so far that they lose their substance. Emotional heights merely plateaued, sitting sad and uncomfortable, taking away from the story and leading to the inevitable wish to stare at a clock in hopes that the film would soon end. Clocking in at a little over two hours, it never really does.
Again, both Negga and Edgerton do the real-life Richard and Mildred justice with their portrayal of the groundbreaking couple. Their energy and chemistry is undeniable and understated, saving themselves but not the story itself. Even the sound mixing seemed to be against them as the quiet would creep in awkwardly during key moments between the two. By the time we get to the “height” of the film even the most dedicated of fan would have let their mind wander. You could argue that the source material was lacking, but even so it is Nichols’ duty as a filmmaker to tell a story, and that just seems like something he’s not ready to do.
Loving is now playing in theaters everywhere.
