Loving (2016 film)
Loving is a 2016 American biographical romantic drama film which tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the plaintiffs in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court (the Warren Court) decision Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage.[6][7][8][9] The film was produced by Big Beach and Raindog Films,[10][11] and distributed by Focus Features.[12] The film takes inspiration from The Loving Story (2011) by Nancy Buirski, a documentary which follows the Lovings and their landmark case.[13][14][15]
Loving
Jeff Nichols
The Loving Story
by Nancy Buirski[1]
- Ged Doherty
- Colin Firth
- Nancy Buirski
- Sarah Green
- Marc Turtletaub
- Peter Saraf
Adam Stone
- Big Beach
- Raindog Films
- May 16, 2016 (Cannes Film Festival)
- November 4, 2016 (United States)
- February 3, 2017 (United Kingdom)
123 minutes[3]
- United Kingdom
- United States
English
$9 million[4]
$12.9 million[5]
The film was directed by Jeff Nichols, who also wrote the screenplay.[16] Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton co-star as Mildred (née Jeter; July 22, 1939 – May 2, 2008) and Richard Loving (October 29, 1933 – June 29, 1975).[17] Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, and Michael Shannon are all featured in supporting roles.[18] Principal photography began in Richmond, Virginia, on September 16, 2015, and ended on November 19.[19] The locations used for Loving were mainly based in Richmond, also in King and Queen County, Caroline County, Central Point, and Bowling Green.[20]
Loving began a limited release in the United States on November 4, 2016,[21] before a wide release on November 11, 2016.[22][23] The film received positive reviews, and was named one of the best films of 2016 by several media outlets.[24] The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival,[25][26] and was nominated for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for Edgerton and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Negga.[27][28]
Plot[edit]
Richard Loving, a white construction worker in Caroline County, Virginia, falls in love with a local black woman and family friend, Mildred Jeter. Upon Mildred discovering that she is pregnant, they decide to marry. Knowing that interracial marriage violates Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws, they drive to Washington, D.C., to get married in 1958. Richard makes plans to build a house for Mildred less than a mile from her family home.
Soon afterward, sheriff's deputies raid Mildred's home and arrest the Lovings. When Richard points to the marriage license, Sheriff Brooks curtly tells him that it has no validity in Virginia and hauls them both to jail. They plead guilty to breaking the anti-miscegenation law and are sentenced to one year in prison. However, the judge suspends the sentence, provided that they do not return to Virginia together for at least 25 years. The Lovings move to Washington to stay with a friend of Mildred. They briefly return to Caroline County so their first child, Sidney, can be delivered by Richard's mother, a midwife. Arrested again, they are cleared when their lawyer informs the judge he erroneously advised them to return.
Mildred and Richard have two other children together, Donald and Peggy. However, Mildred grows frustrated by being away from the country, and her frustration grows when she watches the March on Washington. She writes to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy for help. Kennedy refers them to the American Civil Liberties Union. Lawyer Bernard S. Cohen takes the case and confers with constitutional law expert Phil Hirschkop.[29] They conclude that the Lovings' ordeal has a good chance of going all the way to the Supreme Court – and overturning similar anti-miscegenation laws across the nation.
After a minor auto accident involving one of their children, the Lovings decide to slip back into Virginia, settling in a remote portion of King and Queen County, while their case moves through the courts. Their case gains wide attention, and is profiled in Life magazine by photographer Grey Villet.[30][31] The state contends that people of different races were never intended to live together, and goes as far as to suggest the Lovings' children are bastards. The state Supreme Court refuses to set aside the Lovings' conviction. Undeterred, Cohen and Hirschkop appeal to the federal Supreme Court. Before going to Washington, Cohen asks Richard if he has a message for the justices. Richard replies, "Tell the judge I love my wife."
Several weeks later, the Supreme Court unanimously holds that laws prohibiting interracial marriage are unconstitutional. The Lovings return to Caroline County and resume construction on their dream house. An epilogue reveals Richard died in a car accident seven years later; Mildred never remarried and continued living in the house Richard built for her until her death in 2008.
Additionally, Terri Abney is introduced as Garnet Jeter, the sister of Mildred;[90] Alano Miller appears as Raymond Green, the best friend of Richard;[91][92] Jon Bass appears as Phil Hirschkop, a Virginia civil rights lawyer, and associate of Bernie Cohen;[93][94] Bill Camp appears as Frank Beazley, a former lawyer to the Lovings;[95][96] David Jensen appears as Judge Bazile, the Caroline County judge who indicted the Lovings in 1958 for violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act;[97][98] Sharon Blackwood appears as Lola Loving, Richard's mother;[99][100] Christopher Mann appears as Theoliver Jeter, Mildred's father;[101][102] Winter-Lee Holland appears as Musiel Byrd-Jeter, the mother of Mildred;[103][104] Michael Abbott Jr. appears as Deputy Cole, one of the law officers charged with arresting the couple;[105][106] Chris Greene appears as Percy Fortune, a good friend of the Lovings, in particular, Richard;[99] Will Dalton appears as Virgil, a very loyal friend to Richard.[99][107]
Themes[edit]
The film is described as an apolitical film,[247] following different emotional arcs about the human condition, including family relationships and love, as such as Nichols' Shotgun Stories (2007), Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), and Midnight Special (2016), wherein these themes are also explored.[132] Nichols also mentions the themes of love, human rights, cultural and institutionalized racism, and of overcoming bigotry.[248][249] Nichols remarked that both Richard and Mildred Loving represent what are important about political debates, whilst remarking that once political or religious debates are engaged then the themes or ideals come about, to which he states,[237] "I think people just start thinking about themselves and what they're comfortable with and what they think is right and wrong in their moral compass."[237]
According to Ruth Negga, a primary theme of Loving is hope.[250] Negga spoke of how such a theme of the film was interconnected with Mildred: "... she was a hopeful person. You're drawn to those people as well, because they inspire hope in you, and I think she was very much the rock of her family, and for Richard. You want to orbit that."[250]
Historical accuracy[edit]
Following a screening of Loving, at the Princeton Garden Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, producer Peter Saraf held an open Q&A discussion with the audience, in which he touched on such topics as the film's historical authenticity, in which he described the film as true to life:[68] "Richard Loving was indeed as stoic as Nichols and Edgerton portray him; the small rural Virginia community in which they lived was (and is) highly racially integrated; Mildred Loving really did write directly to Robert Kennedy, and her letter is still in the Kennedy collection; and the Lovings' lawyer really did, per Richard's request, relay his words before the Supreme Court that "I love my wife.""[68]
Edgerton spoke of Nichols' aim to strike a "sense of authenticity and truth" in Loving, with the actor himself remarking his and Negga's attempt to try to look, sound, and act as close as possible to the way Richard and Mildred really were.[251] He was intent on verisimilitude, to which Nichols began to state, "I didn't feel comfortable making things up with this story—the jail was the same jail they stayed in. The front shot of the courthouse was the same courthouse."[39] The Lovings' surviving child, Peggy Loving, was a consultant to the production.[39][252][253] She visited the set and was struck by how thoroughly the actors had channeled her parents – in character and in costume.[64]
According to Saraf, both Bernie Cohen and Phil Hirschkop were consulted on the film, despite no longer being on speaking terms with one another.[68] The makers of the film did change some of the details, with Nichols inventing some characters and scenes, however, he sought to stay as true to the Lovings' story as possible.[254] Speaking to Coverage Opinions, Hirschkop expressed his view on Jon Bass' portrayal of himself, with Hirschkop remarking that Bass was too mild mannered and nothing like himself, and while Hirschkop mentions that Loving served its purpose as a film, he also listed several discrepancies between the film and what actually occurred.[255]
Mark Loving, the grandson to Mildred Loving, said his grandma is not African American as portrayed by Ruth Negga with Ethiopian blood, but rather Native American as Rappahannock Indian.[256]
Marketing[edit]
On October 23, 2015, TheWrap promoted Loving by releasing the first image of the film, featuring Edgerton's Richard Loving and Negga's Mildred Loving.[257][258] On July 12, 2016, Loving was promoted by the release of a trailer by Focus Features, was praised by reviewers.[259][260] The Huffington Post's Zeba Blay described the trailer as "breathtaking", while noting it to be a beautiful testimony to the concept of love verses racial divide.[261] The New York Times's Mekado Murphy stated that the trailer "suggests the film will make a strong case for Oscar consideration a year after the Academy was the subject of blistering criticism for its all-white slate of acting nominees."[262] Time's Eliza Berman wrote that the trailer "offers a glimpse of a simple life violently interrupted by a sheriff with a flashlight in the middle of the night."[263]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Loving opened to an estimated $169,000 from four theaters for a per screen average of $42,250, the year's fifth highest PTA debut, after Moonlight (2016) ($100,519), Don't Think Twice (2016) ($92,835), the re-release of Howards End (1992) ($52,568), and The Lobster (2015) ($47,563),[311][312] making it No. 1 at the indie box office in its opening weekend, with its average significantly beating Doctor Strange (2016).[313][314] Comparatively, Focus Features debuted The Theory of Everything (2014) over the same weekend in 2014, where it delivered a $41,753 PTA.[315]
In its second weekend, Loving brought in an estimated $532,000 ($11,565 PTA), at 46 theaters,[316][317][318] making it No. 1 at the platform box office in its weekend, with its average beating Doctor Strange (2016), Arrival (2016), Hacksaw Ridge (2016), Moonlight (2016), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016).[319][320] Next weekend, it expanded to a total of approximately 100 locations, including theaters in Baltimore, Houston, Seattle, St. Louis and Denver.[321] Additionally, its third weekend, Loving expanded to a total of 137 theaters, wherein it brought in an estimated $854,000 ($6,234 PTA) for a $1.7 million domestic cumulative,[322] moving to No. 2 at the platform box office, behind Moonlight, although above in average.[323][324] On November 23, 2016, it will expand into an additional 284 theaters.[325][326]
In its fourth weekend, Loving topped the limited release box office at No. 1 with an expansion to 421 locations, grossing over $1,691,000 ($4,017 average).[327][328][329][330] Over the five-day holiday weekend, Focus Features stated that Loving grossed $2,129,000 ($5,057 average), giving it a four-week cumulative of $4,069,771.[331] In its fifth weekend, Nichols' Loving was toppled, in limited release box office, by Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By the Sea (2016), with the film subsequently falling by 41% to the No. 2 spot among smaller releases.[332][333] It was projected to earn $623,380 on its sixth weekend, at 572 locations, while still maintaining its No. 2 spot in the limited release box office, behind Manchester by the Sea (2016);[334][335] it earned $633,993, for a $6.8 million domestic cumulative.[336] By its seventh weekend, Loving fell to the fifth-highest-grossing film for the weekend within the limited release box office.[337] BoxOffice estimated that during the holiday weekend, Loving was expected to gross $76,930 in the three-day frame, while hitting $107,730 for the four-day weekend, where it grossed $92,919.[338][339]
Critical response[edit]
Loving received praise for its acting, Nichols' direction and screenplay, and the film's faithfulness to the Lovings' account.[340][341][342][343] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88%, based on 295 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Loving takes an understated approach to telling a painful—and still relevant—real-life tale, with sensitive performances breathing additional life into a superlative historical drama."[344] Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[345]
The film received a five-minute standing ovation following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.[346][347] The Hollywood Reporter,[348] People,[349] and Essence,[350] among others, identified it as an Oscar contender.[351][352] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post heralded the film and its director, Jeff Nichols, by stating: "Rather than deliver a rote—if rousing—rehearsal of the facts of the Lovings' case, [Nichols] makes the counterintuitive decision to allow them to live in front of the camera", with Hornaday continuing by praising him as "too astute a filmmaker to be unaware of the analogies "Loving" invites regarding marriage equality, but he wisely leaves agendas and polemics behind."[353] Stephanie Zacharek of Time called it "beautifully restrained" and wrote, "Nichols ... tells the Lovings' story in a way that feels immediate and modern, and not just like a history lesson."[354] Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail spoke most highly of Edgerton and Negga, with Taylor stating, "Negga and Edgerton make these noble people three-dimensional, turning a docile, unambitious couple with neither the self-knowledge nor the words to launch a social revolution into unlikely protagonists in the civil-rights movement."[355]
Peter Debruge of Variety praised Edgerton and Negga's performances as "powerful" and "uplifts [Nichols'] sensitive portrait of a mixed-race marriage forbidden in 1958 Virginia".[356] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair felt that "Edgerton is one of the more dynamic movie actors of his generation, and brings true commitment to his zipped-up, laconic portrayal of Richard, a man whose passion for his wife and family ran deep and quiet."[357] Michelle Dean of The New Republic spoke most highly of the performances, writing, "Edgerton is likely to get more attention, though it is Negga's incredible performance that makes the film so powerfully subtle."[358] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Loving honors its subject, its audience and the movie medium."[359] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film a three and a half-star rating, and said: "The stabbing simplicity of Negga's acting is breathtaking. Jeff Nichols has given us a quietly devastating film that resonates for the here and now and marches to the cadences of history and the heart."[360]
In her review for The New York Times, Manohla Dargis wrote, "[Nichols'] most distinct aesthetic choice is the movie's quietness and the hush that envelops its first scene and that eventually defines the Lovings as much as their accents, gestures, manners and battles.[361] Wendy Ide's four-star review for The Guardian stated "Nichols's understated approach to the story, devoid of dramatic grandstanding, chimes with the dignity of the Lovings who “won't bother anyone” if only they can be left alone to live their lives".[362] Brian Tallerico's review for RogerEbert.com stated the film "has few twists and turns" but when the film ends, "one doesn't feel like they spent time being manipulated by awards bait or melodrama. One appreciates a story well-told and having been allowed a brief, believable window into the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving, two people who changed the country just by falling in love."[363] Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent called Loving "a quiet film but a powerful and uplifting one – an intimate domestic drama in which the protagonists themselves hardly seem to notice their own historical role".[364] Tim Grierson of Screen International gave a mixed review saying "the tasteful restraint doesn't lead to a greater emotional payoff".[365]