The Loving Story tells the tale of a conveniently named couple who fell in love and got married. But their love was more than just star-crossed: It was illegal.
In 1958 Virginia, marriage between whites and non-whites was a felony, but Mildred and Richard Loving didn’t know that. One night, they were arrested and forced into exile by the police, making their new home in Washington D.C. The young, rural couple didn’t take well to life in the city, and they thus decided to embark upon a legal journey that would end with the repeal of anti-miscegenation laws around the country.
Although at times it reads like a sterile made-for-TV documentary, director and Full Frame founder Nancy Buirski’s first feature-length documentary blends archival footage, photographs and newly shot footage in a way that manages to be surprisingly emotive. The film makes superb use of never-before-seen newsreels of the Loving family as well as interviews with attorneys Bernard Cohen and Philip Hirschkop, painting a powerful picture of the simplicity and happiness of the Lovings’ marriage, while at the same time portraying the deep anxiety surrounding the case.
The documentary’s motivational energy centers on the two inexperienced lawyers—one so inexperienced that he wasn’t allowed to argue a case before the Supreme Court—and their coming-of-age through this case; the Lovings are surprisingly removed. But this wise directorial choice accurately reflects the involvement of the plaintiffs in the case. They did not care that the case was going all the way to the top; they just wanted to carry on with their lives. Richard’s advice to the attorneys before they faced the Supreme Court was simply, “Tell the court I love my wife.”
Just as the name implies, this is a story about love.
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