'Tell the Court I love my wife'

THE LOVING STORY (2011)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

It is extraordinary how the Lovings managed to keep their composure in the face of ridiculous scandal. The Lovings, Richard and Mildred Loving, were arrested and almost spent a year in jail. They did not commit murder or larceny. Nope, their crime was being married to each other. How could this be? Richard was a white man married to a black woman, or in the parlance of its Civil Rights day, a colored woman.

One night, late at 4 a.m., the Lovings were arrested in their own bedroom by the sheriff! The charge was violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 (the anonymous tip sent to the sheriff was that an interracial couple was having sex, also a crime). The married couple is sentenced to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended for 25 years on condition that the couple leave the state of Virginia. The hope is that the state's anti-miscegenation laws will be changed so they can remain in their own piece of Virginia land (Central Point) that they call home. Though they were married in Washington, D.C. which carried no anti-miscegenation laws, they prefer to live near their family. It takes a letter to Senator Robert Kennedy, the support of the ACLU and an eventual Supreme Court decision to right all wrongs. Meanwhile, Virginia Klansmen and other bigots spouse their lack of support - they want to keep America white and bright. Even a Circuit Court Judge makes the alarming generalization that God intended all races to be from different continents with no integration. Ouch! My eyes hurt just from reading that statement - I am afraid I will go blind if I read it again.

Most of "The Loving Story" is told through 16mm film footage by filmmaker Hope Ryden and cinematographer Abbot Mills as they capture the Lovings in their home and catering to their children. We also see the two bright, enthusiastic lawyers who take their case to the Supreme Court, Bernard Cohen and Philip Hirschkop - both are nervous about this landmark court case that can either make or break their careers. It is important to note that the defense lawyers do not share any of this animosity or racism that others carry - they do not understand how these laws can still exist.

"The Loving Story" is a remarkable, honest and bittersweet documentary, shifting from some poignant photographs and film footage to the lawyers' own backbreaking work of defining and defying all odds to alter ancient laws. The film is really a close examination of two people in love who defied the authorities to stay close to home to be together. A tragedy did occur that resulted in the death of Richard due to a drunk driver's collision with their vehicle - they were living together legally only 8 years after the Supreme Court decision prior to this car crash. Mildred survived, losing an eye, until she passed in 2008.

Ultimately,The Lovings didn't set out to change the world. They just wanted what everyone else had - family, home and hearth and a future. Director Nancy Buirski proves in a revelatory and touching manner that marriage is indeed color blind.