London, 1947. Ruth Williams, 24, meets Seretse Khama. They soon fall desperately in love at a time when relationships between whites and blacks are still taboo. When Seretse is recalled by his uncle to his native Bechuanaland (the future Botswana) to become king, he asks Ruth to marry him. But the couple is unaware that their union will cause a diplomatic crisis in both countries, due to racial prejudice influenced by apartheid in neighboring South Africa...

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A United Kingdom inevitably echoes Jeff Nichols’ Loving, another love story and milestone in the fight against racism and segregation. This movie by Amma Asante was not honored at Cannes or the Oscars, but nevertheless deserves a look: despite its didactic narrative and conventional framework, this melodrama is nevertheless sensitive to the issues. The plot is certainly superficial, with an embarrassing tendency to ham it up, but the historical significance behind A United Kingdom is powerful and the performances by David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike are very good. Too bad that the movie is somewhat bland overall, too often seeming smoothed over by consensus during editing.