RUTH Negga is a fine actress. She’s very good in her new film, ‘Loving’. But was her performance strong enough to earn her an Oscar nomination? Or in the year after zero nominations for black actors and the outcry that followed, has she lucked out?
From acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, ‘Loving’ celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple from America’s deep south, Richard and Mildred Loving (portrayed by Negga and Joel Edgerton), who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown.
Their civil rights case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry.
The story is one that will probably surprise many. The fact that not so long ago, even though black and white people were allowed to wed in certain US states, they were unable to live in peace in others.
The Lovings married in Washington but mistakenly believed that this would be enough to satisfy the Virginia state authorities, the place where they came from and chose to raise a family. But one night while sleeping, local police officers raided their home and arrested the couple with the threat of jail time.
Their lawyer was able to plea bargain and avoided incarceration for his clients on the condition that they leave Virginia and not return for a period of 25 years.
Edgerton and Negga produce solid and understated performances that are low on dialogue in a film that moves at a steady but satisfying pace. ‘Loving’ won’t be everyone’s cup of tea delivering a subtle and gentle observation on two people’s struggles against injustice. That very injustice is the one element which guarantees to keep the viewer animated and engaged, all the while hoping that love will prevail.
Amy Adams, who was amazing in ‘Arrival’, may be wondering how her best actress nomination failed to arrive in the post, but Oscar nominations are always subjective, and sometimes political. We score ‘Loving’ an endearing 3 out of 5 stars.
Paul O’Rourke
