Ruth Negga Shouldn’t Have Been the Only Oscar Nomination For ‘Loving’ — IndieWire On Demand
Zack Sharf
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It’s frustrating when powerful dramas fail to earn major Oscar nominations and thus risk being drowned out of the conversation of movies you absolutely need to see. Jeff Nichols‘ “Loving” seems to be one of those movies this year. An extraordinary true story told with the humanity and restraint it deserves, it takes what could have been an awards-baiting biopic and turns it into a soulful study of two gentle-hearted people whose love defied the law and changed history.
Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton excel in the roles of Mildred and Richard Loving, whose fight to remain married led to the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Negga rightfully earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (her eyes are a window into her soul), and Joel Edgerton and Nichols as both a writer and director could have very well joined her.
In his review out of the Cannes film festival, Eric Kohn wrote, “Recounting the plight of Mildred and Richard Loving, who were persecuted by the state of Virginia for their marriage, ‘Loving’ offers no fancy tricks, but benefits from Nichols’ gentle approach, which leaves room for the two performances to shine.”
And shine they do. Kate Erbland makes the case for watching “Loving” on demand this week in the video above.
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