Impediments

The Love Witch

Crit

Wow, is that ever weird. To the extent that a plot description matters, Elaine (Samantha Robinson) has really bad luck with relationships, and the breakups are no picnic for her boyfriends, either.

But what has gotten this insanely high numbers on Rotten Tomatoes is its loving (!) and bizarrely feminist sendup of the sort of psychedelic soft porn I associate with the early days (and late nights) of Cinemax. And like those flicks, this is amusing for a while, then turns tedious. By all means have a look when you can stream it for free and quit once you get your fill.

Loving

Crit

Was skeptical  of the trailer, and was last week told by a professional critic not to expect too much, but this is a quiet gem, completely unlike anything else writer-director Jeff Nichols has done, except in its excellence. Nichols repeater Joel Edgerton plays the taciturn Richard Loving, who wears every feeling on his face, and Ruth Negga is his rock, the slightly more talkative and gently determined Mildred. They have broken Virginia law by marrying in the District of Columbia in 1958, then coming home to live as man and wife.

Yes, the deck is firmly stacked, but Nichols is smart enough to depend not on our own assumptions of right and wrong, instead throwing the force of the argument to the self-evidence of the Lovings' love. I see Oscar nominations for both leads.

Trailers

• The Zookeeper's Wife--Another popular novel I haven't read; 2017 Oscar bait for J. Chastain.
• Fences--Man, I'm glad this has finally gotten to the screen. I may spend Christmas with Denzel and Viola.