This was nominated for Best Actress at this year's Oscars. In 1958, Virginia still had miscegenation laws that prohibited marriage between races. Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton), a white dude, married Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga), a black woman, in Washington, DC, before returning to their home in Virginia. They were subsequently arrested and jailed, then sentenced to exile.
Yes, really. Exile. Like the middle ages.
Fast forward eight years and three children. The Lovings are living in a cramped row house in DC. They are approached by a young lawyer from the ACLU named Bernard Cohen (Nick Kroll) after Mildred wrote a letter to Bobby Kennedy, who championed Civil Rights causes. Cohen wanted to use the Lovings as a landmark case to push to the Supreme Court in order to overturn miscegenation laws across the country.
And that's it. There wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about them as a couple. They certainly weren't the first mixed race couple in America, or even the first to get married. They happened to be married at a crucial junction in American history, and held up as an example to force legislation. I don't know that it was necessarily fair to the Lovings as a couple. They had to go through a lot of ostracization and fear, both from institutions like the state and local government and law enforcement, and from fellow citizens. That kind of (justified) paranoia destroys your peace of mind.
As a piece of legislation and history, the importance of Loving v. Virginia can't be overstated. As a movie, however, ehhhhh. It is glacially paced, with quiet, subtle performances from its lead actors. Important? Yes. Accurate? Probably. Fun to watch? No. So don't go in expecting big, dynamic, tension-filled moments of high drama. That is not what this movie is about. But if you want to see some beautifully restrained performances from Edgerton and especially Negga, by all means.
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