FILM OF THE WEEK

★★★★

Loving (2016) 11.00pm, Saturday BBC Two

“I know we have some enemies; but we have some friends, too”

Our gal, Ruth Negga, was deservedly Oscar-nominated for her searing performance in Je Nichols’ true-life drama about the inter-racial couple in 1960s America, who took the state of Virginia to the Supreme Court and changed racial laws forever. Hers is a beautifully observed performance (Emma Stone pipped her to the gong that year), complemented by Joel Edgerton as her humble and devoted husband. The strength of Nichols’ restrained drama is that, despite the political and socioculture rami cations of the events on screen, this is a simple story about a young couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who weren’t Civil Rights activists, but just wanted to be able to express their love in public. The strong supporting cast includes Bill Camp and Will Dalton; while Adam Stone is responsible for the beautiful cinematography.

In an interview with the Guide to accompany the big-screen release of the lm, Ruth explained why playing Mildred Loving had left a lasting impression on the actress.

“For me, it’s the greatest role I’ve had so far in my career,” Ruth explained. “I can’t believe that I got to play Mildred. It was very tough. I auditioned for the role about two years before we shot it and I was determined to get that part. I had seen a documentary about the case and thought it was fascinating. To me, this was the greatest love story ever; what these two ordinary people achieved was incredible. I think Je is an amazing director. It was a dream come true.”