Loving

Loving is the real-life story of courage and commitment as an interracial couple fights for marriage equality in the case that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Richard (Edgerton) and Mildred (Negga) Loving fell in love and were married in 1958. The couple had grown up in Central Point, a small town in Virginia that was more integrated than surrounding areas in the American South. Yet it was the State of Virginia, where they were making their home and starting a family, that first jailed and then banished them. Richard and Mildred eloped with their children to the inner city of Washington, D.C. While relatives made them feel welcome there, the more urban environment did not feel like home to them. Ultimately, the pull of their roots in Virginia would spur Mildred to try to find a way back. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry. Richard and Mildred returned home and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary with Writer/Director Jeff Nichols; four featurettes: Making Loving (HD 04:28), A Loving Ensemble (HD 04:07), Loving v. Virginia (HD 04:26), and Virginia: A Loving Backdrop (HD 03:09); upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 2.40:1 1080p AVC picture was photographed with the Panaflex Millennium XL2 camera on Kodak film stock in anamorphic Panavision®. The imagery exhibits a perfectly natural appearance with a warm and rich color palette. Hues are well balanced throughout with no exaggeration. Greens of vegetation in rural Virgina are vivid, and other hues convey the feel of the period. Contrast is excellent, with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation. Night scenes are particularly dark, yet effectively highlighted, for a stylized appearance. The cinematography is excellent, but the overall darkened character and low-light situations soften resolution in facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. Fleshtones are generally naturally hued, though, with a slight yellowish hue during low-light conditions. Of course, brighter scenes exhibit far better resolution with better dimensionality. Overall, the picture exhibits a natural presence and realism throughout. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is dialogue focused, but often intelligibility is wanting with muffled speak. Also, the dialogue is often quite unnaturally forward, with poor spatial integration. Atmospherics are realistic throughout with the sound of birds in the country setting and 1950/60’s automobiles, wind, etc. Foley also is excellent. Deep bass is limited but really uncalled for, given the storytelling. The orchestral score nicely sets the mood and is supportive of the emotional aspects of the story. Some great blues music segments are interspersed. Surrounds are enveloping, with respect to the music, but generally subtle without attention, with a few exceptions, even during the urban street scenes. Overall, this is a very satisfying soundtrack, though, dialogue should have been far more intelligible. (Gary Reber)