'Loving' is the least 'Oscar-y' Academy Award contender this year

This week I got the opportunity to get an early look at one of the movies in this year's Oscar discussion -- the drama Loving, which dramatizes the iconic 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision that put a stop the remaining anti-miscegenation laws in this country, of which there were actually quite a few, believe it or not.

Audiences expecting a rousing polemic may be surprised by this movie. It is decidedly low key and quiet, much like the real life couple that inspired it -- Mildred and Richard Loving. And this may confound some viewers (it already has turned off some critics) who are looking for more passion and intensity from this story.

If you've seen the terrific HBO documentary on the Lovings however, you might walk away understanding why director Jeff Nichol's decision to make a more soft-spoken movie is not only accurate but inspired.

There is no question that its stars -- Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga -- should and will warrant serious awards consideration. It'll be interesting to see if one or both performances squeak into what are almost always very competitive lead acting races, because they aren't "big" -- but they feel honest and true.

Edgerton, who continues to grow on me and surprise me as an actor, is incredibly moving as Richard Loving, a prideful man who is also painfully shy when it comes to the media attention his coupling engenders. He appears to bear the agony of their situation the hardest and he creates a great deal of empathy for his character.

Negga, who I must confess I've never seen in a film before, is also a bit of a revelation. She has arguably the less showy role, in a way. Her Mildred is more outspoken and self assured, and Negga projects so much warmth and decency, it's easy to feel a sense of outrage about what happened to this couple.

And what happened is edifying. The two were married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, when they returned to their Virginia home, they were ripped out of the beds in the middle of night and jailed separately, simply for being an interracial couple. To think that something like that took place less than 60 years ago would be unfathomable to a lot of people today, which is precisely why this film should exist and be seen.

The tone definitely does take some getting adjusted to. Like some of his other films, Nichols is not interested in propulsive scores or snappy dialogue. Still, it's obvious that he cared deeply about his characters and this story, which obviously has parallels to the modern marriage equality fight.

It'd be interesting to see how this story would have been told in another director's hands -- perhaps a filmmaker of color -- but I think this project does honor the Lovings' legacy and rightfully elevates their courage and decency.

It's not going to make much of a splash in theaters right now, it's creeping in opposite the latest Marvel behemoth Dr. Strange, but it's definitely worth getting around to as the season unfolds.