Green Book

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dimiter D. Marinov, Mike Hattn, PJ Byrne
Directed by: Peter Farrelly
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A tough, working class Italian (Viggo Mortensen) takes a job as a driver for an African-American piano virtuoso (Mahershala Ali) as the two travel throughout America, including the deep south.

Review:

Tim: It took me a little while to see Green Book, so I'd already heard a ton about it before I got to watch. I know it won 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. I know it was also a controversial pick for that award because of its too-glossy depiction of racism. All that being said, I work as hard as I can to remain objective when watching movies (which is admittedly, challenging). I always want to make my own mind up. I will admit that watching the Oscars, I was disappointed this movie won Best Picture (again, before having seen it). I wish the Academy would pick more progressive films, rather than always diving into the past. That being said, after watching this film, here's my conclusion: Green Book is indeed a great movie, one of the top 10 of 2018. However, I agree with some of the criticism about how racism is depicted. I personally wouldn't have given it the top honor. That being said, it's not like this was an outrageous choice- Peter Farrelly directs a great movie here.

I believe this movie works best when you focus not on the racism aspect, but on the friendship of these two men (which is problematic, as I'll explain). The film does an incredible job of telling the story of these two men who couldn't be more different. One is carefree, always hungry, tough, loyal. Dislikes drinking out of the same glass as black people. Rough around the edges, not very smart. The other is brilliant, cultured, but cut off from the rest of the world and struggles with that isolation. He's idealistic yet firm in his convictions. The film is a fascinating look at the unlikely friendship that forms between these two men. It's not just that they like each other, but they begin influencing each other. Both are better for the life lessons they learn from the other. That's why the movie is brilliant, that's the most powerful takeaway from the film- that in life, it's important to consider who you surround yourself with, as they will change and shape who you are. It's my belief that this aspect is what propels Green Book into greatness.

The racism aspect of the story is more problematic. We've had quite a lot of movies addressing this in recent years. It felt like the way it was depicted here was a little too glossy, a little too "aw shucks" in how it dealt with racism. I give the film some credit for depicting some of the ills of racism, but the solutions presented are all too easy and comfortable. A big message seemed to be, "not all white people are racist!" and the story goes out of the way to show this. Whether that's a friendly, non-racist cop, or a family of New York Italians who are surprisingly accepting, racism here felt safe and easy. It felt simple to distance ourselves from it- that it's a problem that some other people have, especially in the south. It doesn't address racism for what it is- a systemic issue that has pervaded the American culture from our roots and is still alive and well (sadly) in 2018. I disliked how racism was portrayed in this film and the solutions felt uncomfortable and unrealistic. That's the most problematic aspect of the film and the biggest reason why I don't believe this film should have won Best Picture.

I do need to mention the performances of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. I want to start with Ali. I first starting loving this actor because of his performance as Cottonmouth on "Luke Cage". It's been incredible to chart his meteoric rise in the subsequent years. When I compare his performance in that show, to his Academy Award winning performance in Moonlight, I have a hard time believing this is the same actor. He's completely transformed himself here. His mannerisms, his voice- it shows a stunning acting range I did not know Ali had. I've been convinced he is a great actor for years now, but this further illustrates it. Now, I will say that the performance itself might have been just below great, but knowing his other roles, I recognize the effort it took to play this character. I was overall fairly happy he won his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. I also give Viggo Mortensen a ton of credit for his performance. He's in the lead role here and he had a fairly big challenge. You have to like his character, even though he has some rough edges. Mortensen hits all the right notes- you learn to really care for this character and you're rooting for him. I've seen Mortensen give better performances before, but he certainly deserved his Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The supporting cast was fine- Linda Cardellini gave a strong performance, she's easily the standout from the supporters.

Green Book has some flaws, but it's still a powerful movie that's helped because it based on a true story. It's entertaining, funny, and even though it fumbles the racism piece, it at least adds to the conversation. I was glad Ali won for Best Supporting Actor, I can see how the movie won Best Original Screenplay, but I'm still perplexed it took home Best Picture. Still, this is a great movie and clearly a massive success story. I'm honestly surprised Peter Farrelly had a movie like this in him.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Driving Miss Daisy, Moonlight