Loving (2016)

The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with the Supreme Court's historic 1967 decision.

Director:

Jeff Nichols

Writer:

Jeff Nichols

Stars:

Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 25 wins & 85 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ruth Negga	...	Mildred
Joel Edgerton	...	Richard
Will Dalton	...	Virgil
Dean Mumford	...	Drag Race Driver
Terri Abney	...	Garnet
Alano Miller	...	Raymond
Chris Greene	...	Percy (as Chris R. Greene)
Benjamin Booker	...	Shotgun Shack Musician #1
Justin Robinson	...	Shotgun Shack Musician #2
Dennis Williams	...	Shotgun Shack Musician #3
Keith Tyree	...	Bricklayer
Sharon Blackwood	...	Lola Loving
Rebecca Turner	...	Pregnant Girl
Christopher Mann	...	Theoliver
Mike Shiflett	...	Magistrate

Storyline

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, but 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..

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Plot Keywords:

racial segregation | interracial couple | based on true story | virginia | supreme court | 

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Taglines:

All love is created equal.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Loving

Filming Locations:

Crewe's Place, Charles City County, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$159,615, 6 November 2016

Gross USA:

$7,751,969

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,957,265

Company Credits

Production Co:

Raindog Films, Big Beach Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The U.S. Supreme Court decision of Loving v. Virginia (388 U.S. 1, argued on April 10, 1967, and decided June 12, 1967) unanimously held that Virginia's "Racial Integrity Act of 1924," which forbade marriage between people of different races, was unconstitutional. This decision therefore effectively voided all such laws in other states as well (at the time, interracial marriage was still illegal in at least 15 other states) and was used as precedent in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that likewise declared all laws banning same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.

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Goofs

Regarding the drag race scene, the brake pedal shot indicates that the car had a 2-speed Powerglide transmission as there was no clutch pedal. Also the shift lever was in the Park position making it impossible for the car to move. This would be the only Chevy small block ever hopped up with a "slip and slide Powerglide" transmission. They all had stick shifts, later with close ratios.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mildred: I'm pregnant.
Richard Loving: [long pause] Good. That's good.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Martin Short & Steve Martin/Ruth Negga/Common (2016)

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Soundtracks

For Your Precious Love
Performed by Jerry Butler
Written by Arthur Brooks, Richard A. Brooks and Jerry Butler
Published by Sunflower Music Inc.
Courtesy of Vee Jay Records
By arrangement with Concord Music Group, Inc.

User Reviews

The power of love makes you love the Lovings

I had the chance to see this film at the Austin Film Festival, followed by a QA with the writer/director Jeff Nichols. Having already been familiar with this story from the made for television movie in 1996 starring Timothy Hutton and Lela Rochon as Richard and Mildred Loving. Many would ask why now or why remake this film? Well many people are simply unaware of this couple's story and their groundbreaking supreme court case, because it's certainly not mentioned or taught in public schools. So was the case for the writer/director, as mentioned he was not aware of their story. He carefully followed the documentary and archived records about them, while imagining what their conversations and dialogue would have been like between them. I found the landscape of the cinematography beautiful and breathtaking. The acting chemistry between Ruth Negga and Joel Edgarton was so tender and sincere, as you witness their love and vulnerabilities on screen, it makes you love the Lovings. Ruth Negga really shines as the quiet young woman who becomes the matriarch and leader of her family after watching the march on Washington DC, she decides to write a letter to then Attorney General Robert Kennedy. You see the transformation of two introverted people during the civil rights era become activists for change in their own way that is very powerful in this film. Historically many of the biracial descendants of this country's slave owning founding fathers never benefited from the wealth and privilege of the white ancestors. That is part of what what made their case was so monumental, in that it reversed segregationist slave laws that considered biracial children mongrel bastards and prohibited the rights of marriage and inheritance of interracial couples.