Joel Edgerton’s new flick Loving is a must-see

MILDRED and Richard Loving never set out to change the world. But they did. And it’s high time the world remembered.

REVIEW

RICHARD and Mildred Loving made one of the most significant advances in civil rights and racial equality in the US. But they never set out to be heroes.

The Virginian couple’s case against their own state resulted in the landmark US Supreme Court decision that struck down state laws against interracial marriages.

The monumental legacy they left behind are both contrary to and an embodiment of the modest, humble couple who wanted nothing more than to be husband and wife in their home.

Jeff Nichol’s tender, intimate film captures that spirit beautifully.

In 1958, white labourer Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) and his pregnant girlfriend, black woman Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga), drive to Washington DC from their home in Virginia to be married. They come back home, proudly hanging their marriage certificate on their bedroom wall in Mildred’s family home.

Not long after, acting on a tip-off, the local police come barging into the house under the cover of darkness, arresting them both, telling them their marriage licence is “no good here”.

After spending a few nights in the local jail, they’re given a choice by the judge — either renounce their marriage and no longer see each other, or face banishment from Virginia, where all their family are, for 25 years.

Ruth Negga was nominated for an Oscar for her role.

After several years in DC, Mildred is tired of life in the suburbs and yearns to raise their three children in the open spaces of the Virginian countryside. Emboldened by Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement, she writes to Robert Kennedy, asking for help. He contacts the American Civil Liberties Union on her behalf, who assigns a green but ambitious lawyer (Nick Kroll) with very little experience in constitutional law.

The legal battle would take years and it would thrust the Lovings into the uncomfortable national spotlight as emblems of hope in the struggle for equal rights.

Decades after their court victory, the Lovings’ story is still bracingly relevant today as same-sex couples fight to be recognised under the law in places including Australia. This universal story resonates for anyone who is, or knows people who are, in a relationship that was considered taboo at some point in history.

Quiet but powerful performances from Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga.

What’s striking about Loving, despite its weighty subject matter, is how quiet and subtle it is. It doesn’t focus on sweeping arguments in the US’ highest court or history-making moments. It’s about the story of two people who just want to do what everyone else gets to do.

Negga’s warm, gentle Oscar-nominated screen presence is a vivid portrait of Mildred’s strength and resilience while Edgerton manages to say so much about Richard without saying much at all.

Nichols’ past work was already proof that he is a disciplined and thoughtful filmmaker and Loving only affirms this record. He’s agile and never goes for the cheap, melodramatic shot. He builds a sense of place and people by layering in light touches, from the folk music at the lively party at the beginning of the film to the comfortable atmosphere of a night in the Lovings’ home.

This year in June will be the 50th anniversary of the Loving v Virginia victory but this film reminds us that for all the historical significance of the case, it was always personal.

Rating: 4.5/5

Loving is in cinemas today.

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Originally published as Joel Edgerton’s new flick Loving is a must-see