In 1967, the Supreme Court overturned all bans on interracial marriage with its landmark decision in Loving v. Virginia. Nearly 50 years later, Jeff Nichols offers a modest salute to the couple at the center of the decision with “Loving.” The film traces a strong, steady line to a foregone conclusion, and that steadiness is exactly the point.
Nichols’ key insight is that for all its historical heft, the civil rights decision affected nothing that wasn’t already there. The momentous ruling changed everything, and nothing.
The case and the details pertaining to it are rather peripheral to the film, which premiered in the main competition at Cannes on Monday.