LOVING WINS OVER THE SUPREME COURT
Richard Loving (played by Joel Edgerton) marry Mildred (Ruth Negga) in 1958 by traveling from Caroline County, Virginia, to see a judge in Washington, DC. They thus know that they are violating Virginia’s antimiscegenation law but seem naïve about the consequences of returning home to inevitable arrest, as he is White and she is Black. In the early part of the film, which creeps along boringly, Richard’s friendship with African Americans is established, and indeed he has no White friends except for his mother. He appears surprised when arrest came quickly after the two sleep together, but a country lawyer helps them to plead guilty, get probation for what otherwise would be a year in jail, and accept the court’s decision to ban them from returning to Virginia for 25 years. But they return to Virginia for the birth of their child. And again they are arrested, nearly facing imprisonment until their lawyer makes a pitch to the judge on their behalf, and they go back to the District. But do not like living in Washington with friends, so when their child gets into a minor accident with an auto, they pack up and return to Virginia to face the consequences. But on TV Mildred sees the March on Washington of 1963, writes Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and latter refers her plea to the ACLU. Soon Bernard Cohen (Nick Kroll), a novice attorney who enlists a supposedly more experienced lawyer, Phil Hirschkop (Jon Bass). The legal explanation that their case might ultimately go to the Supreme Court is very unclear, particularly confusing to Richard, while Mildred seems more trusting, as they are trying to help. The legal route is difficult but surmounts the Virginia court system. While they await a Supreme Court decision, they are national celebrities, though both are quite humble until the day in 1967, when the Supreme Court rules in their favor. Directed by Jeff Nichols, titles at the end indicate that the court declared a right to marry. MH