Love endures an endless battle through prejudice in color, in Jeff Nichols newest somber drama “Loving”. Based on the real life 1967 U.S Supreme Court case which validated interracial marriage, the movie tells the story of the courtship and marriage of Mildred Jeter (Ruth Negga), a black woman, and Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton), a white man. They are arrested and sentenced to prison on prejudice in Virginia in 1958, because their interracial marriage violates the state’s anti-miscegenation laws. Exiled to Washington, D.C., they sue the state of Virginia in a series of proceedings leading to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Loving v. Virginia, which holds that laws prohibiting interracial marriage are unconstitutional. Nichols wrote and directed the film, and “Loving” is rated PG-13 for thematic elements.

Jeff Nichols second feature film of 2016 heads in a completely opposite direction of anything that he has ever done as a critically acclaimed director. For all of its merits on fighting the fight of equality and the right that every person has a right to love who they want, “Loving” is very much a romantics story that pits the single greatest emotion in the world front and center of this world-altering story. For the obvious reasons, there’s very little in this film that will actually surprise you. Anyone who pays attention to current events in 2016 knows pretty well that interracial relations are no longer a problem legally, despite them still being the subject of prejudice in some parts of the country. So to go into this movie knowing how it will turn out, is sure to take away a lot of the suspense and shock factor in Nichols picture. Where this movie does hit its stride is in its two main characters who’s bond through some very dividing times in their union keep treading through the world that tells them they can’t, and they object with civil grace and class every single time. This is a story that bases its importance on fighting for the things you love, and that circumference is enough to inspire anybody watching it in a world that has come a long way, but still has so far to go.

Nichols is quickly earning himself the prestige of being one of my favorite directors working today. With achievements in “Midnight Special”, as well as “Mud”, this director knows that a story hinges on its characters, and that is a prime matter in this script. The one thing in common with all of his movies is that they serve as slow-burners, and “Loving” certainly isn’t anything different. I found myself having trouble with being kept intrigued in the real meat of the story because there’s only so often that Nichols brings up the couple’s irregular treatment. We hear about more than we see, and this makes for a couple of dry spells midway through the movie that will test some patience. What he does succeed at doing however, is presenting a different perspective in a racial tension film by putting the white person front-and-center at the backlash. It’s quite unsettling to see how differently Richard and Mildred are taking their disposition, with the former playing off every tirade like he’s being troubled even fighting it. This isn’t to say that Richard doesn’t care, but it’s understandable that from his angle he only wants to do what everyone on this Earth is entitled to; loving their wife. So it feels out of the ordinary for him to be treated like a criminal when he did nothing to justify such a labeling. Mildred is more or less the mouthpiece for this couple, and the course of action falls into her hands, so it’s in her who the movie dominantly follows, offering a counter-productive feminist position to equally match of the racial divide.

The visual presentation and color scheme in the movie is beautiful, radiating the most out of a countryside setting that translates well to its setting in era. The landscapes are familiar for this kind of genre film, but I think the Virginia rural visions plays a character of sorts itself with the emphasis on the importance to what it is opposing in this particular court case. What Nichols relates so beautifully is just how big of a change the two backdrops of Virginia and DC have, further hammering home the idea of just how much has been taken from this couple for living their lifestyle of choice. The illumination of the interior scenes give off a grainy shade of yellow, conjuring up feelings within of the love story of the Lovings being their own fairytale behind these walls, free from the rest of the world that polarizes them. Richard’s vision of building his wife a home early on in the film comes true, and it’s more beautiful than can imagine when that home is filled with the kind of love and sacrifice that it takes to make something this visually enticing.

Two hours feels appropriate enough for this kind of story, but sometimes the movie does take time to get to where it’s trying to go. The third act in particular was a weak point for me, mainly because the decision to omit from showing any of the courtroom footage I felt was a mistake. There was also some missed opportunities with the birts of the three children, two of which show up out of nowhere at the beginning of the second act. What saved this for me from falling into a safe and conventional human rights story like last year’s “Carol” is that this story never takes its audience for granted. The story alone isn’t enough to simply satisfy, there’s also the importance of playing up the tension in defying the law and pledging their case. The love of the Lovings simply isn’t enough to carry this for a full film, so Nichols knows the importance in supplying subplots that do the job in holding the audience in the palms of the story. In that respect, “Loving” warrants the importance of spending our theater money in something that changed our world for the better.

“Loving” shows us that there was a darker time when loving who you wanted could offend everyone else. An ideal that we haven’t completely evaporated from our moral stigmas. Jeff Nichols echoes beautiful touches of factual storytelling, and the chemistry burns strong from Edgarton and Negga who never fail to bring us the goosebumps in standing by their love. Compassionate and well timed. There simply may not be a more important film this year.

7/10