Loving (Jeff Nichols, 2016)

[Jeff]

This might be the year of Jeff Nichols. Midnight Special debuted at Berlinale yesterday to rapturous responses in some quarters (though reviews are all over the place) and Focus picked up the rights to Loving, which is in post now and could theoretically be ready in time for Cannes.

[hearthesilence]

I didn't even know about Loving. There was a documentary feature on this same exact story called The Loving Story that came out several years ago - it uses a lot of footage that was filmed in the company of the Lovings and their lawyers as that case unfolded by Hope Ryden (one of the groundbreaking filmmakers that worked with Robert Drew in the early years of cinéma vérité). Astonishing that the film sat in storage unreleased for decades until that documentary. It'll be interesting to see how Nichols' film competes with it, though to be honest, I'm a bit wary. The Walk and Ali had their merits (the climactic walk for the former, some excellent performances in the latter) but both felt pretty disappointing coming after excellent, high profile documentaries that showed much of the same stories.

[Jeff]

Focus must have considerable confidence in this, as they've given it a plum November 4 release date. It will debut at Cannes, most likely in the Official Selection competition.

[med]

This story was also the subject of a made-for-TV movie that aired on Showtime 20 years ago.

I haven't seen the original fictional take on it, but it appears to have not been very good.

[The Narrator Returns]

Jeff Nichols' Loving

[mfunk9786]

This was better than I expected it to be. Nichols' script is the strongest aspect: muted, utterly devoid of grandstanding speeches and heightened arguments, and all the more profound for it. Little moments of character interaction manage to be uplifting or devastating in ways that they wouldn't have been had they been overwrought by a, say, Weinstein-for-hire prestige screenwriter. Both leads are great though I'm not entirely sure if either performance is transcendent - Joel Edgerton was so, so horrible in Black Mass, which I'd seen earlier this year, that I was skeptical that he had this kind of range, so that was a particularly pleasant surprise. The supporting roles aren't without problems though - Nick Kroll is absolutely not cut out for this kind of muted film, he feels totally out of place, seems to be grinning at the whole endeavor on some level, and doesn't even feel as if he occupies the same universe as the one that Loving exists in. What is written to be his character being a green, nervous lawyer comes off as too slick and winking, though I wonder if someone who's never seen Kroll elsewhere had that sort of issue. The film still comes strongly recommended, though it doesn't stand out in an astoundingly strong year.

[Brian C]

Kroll's character doesn't really come from the same universe, though, does he? The Lovings themselves are really put off my his demeanor. He (the character, that is) is a guy whose idealism and basic decency can't mask his lack of experience not just legally, but also with interaction with people outside of his own cultural circle.

I thought it was an effective performance, although it's true I didn't recognize Kroll in particular. I agree with you about the film otherwise, though.