Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Fresh and Exciting

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Every aspect to this film is understated. Understated acting. Understated directing. Understated cinematography. Understated screenplay. I think you get the idea. All these components join together to create a nuanced story that lingers in your mind. The true story of Richard and Mildred Loving who were targeted by a law that prevents interracial marriage in West Virginia. With the assistance of civil right lawyers, they tackle the courts head on in an attempt to be heard from the Supreme Court. An important story that needed to be told, both thematically and literally. The blurred line between segregation and slavery laws that, combined, established racial stereotypes. Marriage is an inherent right regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation and it never fails to shock me how the abolishment of such laws have only been recent. We have to thank people like the Loving's who experienced consequences first-hand and desired to change the mistreatment of people like themselves. Portrayed enigmatically by Negga and Edgerton who were reluctant at being in the public eye during the case. They both conveyed innocence and fragility to perfection, and their on-screen chemistry was beautiful. Nichols' direction was splendid, he took care in detailing the home lives of the Loving's to enhance the characterisation. The cinematography was also stunning, adored the juxtaposition between rural Virginia and urban Washington. Unfortunately, the problem is with the glacial pacing. The runtime consists greatly of the Loving's and the way they live their daily lives, but has no impact on the greater picture on civil rights. There was no emotional impact until the last one minute where we discover what happened after the film. It's a sensitive topic, but it needed more power in order to convey its importance and unfortunately the screenplay didn't allow that. Exquisitely acted and directed, just not emotional enough for me.

There are so many problems with this movie. What a waste of a good story! They must have loved each other very deeply for them to risk everything and defy society. Yet, in this movie, there is no chemistry between the two leads. It's so miscast, it's hard to imagine they even like each other. I understand the focus on this movie is the couple and not the case. Yet, they made an impact at all precisely because of the landmark case. By barely skimming the Supreme Court case, it lost the point of the story. And the pacing is so slow, one could take naps between changing scenes without missing anything. It made the dramatic story very boring. What a shame! What a waste of a good story!

It's difficult to know where to begin with a film like this. It took nearly 60 years for someone to do this so I guess I would say that at least they took the time to get it right. It is an absolute work of art. And that deserves a lot of attention. But it's also, and primarily, a story about real people and the facts surrounding their lives. Specifically, their marriage. Marriage and raising children is difficult enough; just imagine what it would be like if someone like, say a policeman, stormed 300 years worth of systemic racism, segregation, and slavery, through it. Where this film succeeds so well is that it stays away from that larger picture, and that societal cauldron, and keeps the film focused on the two people at its center. They weren't worldly people. They weren't book smart. And their understanding of the world around them was simple enough to account only for the feelings they had for one another and not the artificial laws that would come to govern them for most of their marriage. I guess I would say that, ultimately, this film brings us into what felt like the real lives of Richard and Mildred Loving. The documentary on which this film is based, "The Loving Story" by Nancy Buriski, is a solid depiction of the actual characters. And Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga are outstanding as the Lovings. Director/screenwriter, Jeff Nichols, keeps the story within the confines of the personal with barely a page of written dialogue for the lead actors. The quietness of their relationship says more than they, or anyone else, could say about them. And there is just enough from the peripheral characters for the viewer to feel the crushing fist of institutionalized racism as they did. I loved this film. The story is compelling and needed to be told from the perspective of its main characters and that was done very well here. The marriage of Richard and Mildred Loving was at the epicenter of one of the most consequential Supreme Court rulings of the 20th Century. A ruling that was unanimous during a time, unlike today, when that was actually possible. The strength of this film is in the touching scenes between the Lovings. Scenes of simplicity like putting your children to bed and then going off to your bedroom at the end of a long day. Richard's daily life was punctuated with monotonous hours as a brick layer where things are predictable and the lines are straight. That was something that he could understand and was comfortable with. Ruth's was one of children and home. That, and one another, was all they wanted. And all they needed. In 1967 the Supreme Court ruled that they should be left to the peace and comfort of a private life. And 60 years later someone made a terrific movie about them. Which is a lot better than not ever making it at all.

The movie was painfully slow, the acting was bad, had lots of silent scenes, and when they decided to speak, the emotions were strange. Like the scene when Mildred was on the phone with Bernie Cohen, or the first time Bernie Cohen brought up the Supreme Court to Richard and Mildred. I liked the story line; I finished the movie because I wanted to know how it ended. The scenery was pretty. I can't say I'd recommend watching it though.