GREEN BOOK REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Green Book is a serious Oscar contender at a time when issues of racial interaction hold a significant spot in the daily news cycle and is an Odd Couple-structured feature with an overlay of social conscience. Because of its 12A rating, it's limited to how graphic it can be. It adds some comedic moments into an otherwise tense observation of injustice and prejudice in the Deep South during the early 1960s.

Set in America in 1962, Green Book tells the heart-warming true story of Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a working-class Italian-American bouncer who takes on a job as a chauffeur for Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a highly-educated African-American classical pianist. The mismatched pair embark on a two-month tour of concert venues in the racially charged deep south and discover they're on the road to a meaningful and unique friendship.

While Green Book has recently been released in the US to critical praise, it's not due to be released in the UK until the beginning of February next year. However, I was fortunate enough to see Green Book at an advance screening and, because it was shown at a 'Secret Screening' where audience members are unaware of what they're about to watch, I was pleasantly surprised. I'd heard a lot of good things about Green Book so I was looking forward to watching it. Fortunately, it didn't disappoint and is a delightful feature that showcases the acting talents of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. 

Since the release of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy 17 years ago, Mortensen has become best known for his portrayal of Aragorn. Since the trilogy ended in 2004, he has continued to impress and has been nominated at the Academy Awards for his performances in films such as Eastern Promises and Captain Fantastic. By gaining 40-50lbs and adopting a New York accent, Mortensen is almost unrecognisable in his portrayal of Vallelonga. At the time of writing this review, he is currently nominated at the Golden Globes for his performance and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get recognised by the Academy. Ali received his first Academy Award after he appeared in Barry Jenkins' drama, Moonlight, and he has given another strong performance that could see him nominated once more. The majority of Green Book focuses on Vallelonga and Shirley and I'd say that it's worth watching just for the performances of both Mortensen and Ali.

The screenplay was written by Farrelly, Brian Hayes Currie and Vallelonga's son Nick Vallelonga, based on interviews with his father and Shirley, as well as letters his father wrote to his mother. After Shirley finished his tour, both he and Vallelonga went their separate ways but remained friends. As a child, Nick visited Shirley in his studio in Manhattan and heard stories about their trip. He remembers thinking that's an "unbelievable movie" and that he was going to make their story into a movie one day. In his 20s, Nick interview both his father and Shirley about how these two men from starkly different backgrounds navigated the racism they encountered. However, Shirley stated that he didn't want the story told until after his death. Both men passed away in 2013, and those conversations, along with letters Lip wrote his wife, form the basis of Green Book. It's a great insight into what the world was like more than half a century ago. While a lot of things have changed since then, racism is still, unfortunately, a major issue.

Green Book is a mature and heartfelt drama so it may surprise people when they learn it's directed by Peter Farrelly, who is best known for his immature comedies such as Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary, Me, Myself & Irene and several others. While I haven't seen any of the features he's previously directed, I found it impressive that he was able to create a film that doesn't rely on toilet humor or gross-out gags to be entertaining. Most of the comedy comes from pieces of dialogue and Vallelonga and Shirley's mismatched relationship. A funny scene shows Shirley trying fried chicken for the first time and him forcing Vallelonga to drive back and pick up a plastic cup he throws out of the window. Balancing two tonally different genres such as drama and comedy can be tricky but Farrelly succeeds. We could be in hysterics during one scene and then feeling for the characters the next.

While character development and interaction are among two of Green Book's strengths, subtlety isn't. The feature is replete with instances of overt racism in many southern locales, from white bullies being violent towards Shirley to bigoted police officers demeaning him and 'liberal' benefactors insisting that he uses an outhouse (rather than the 'whites only' bathroom). It's these scenes that often echo to similar ones from other films. This is a repetition that speaks to how pervasive and common such instances were in the early 1960's. While I did learn about racism during the 1960s in high school, I was still shocked by how bad it was. In one scene, after Vallelonga is violent towards a police officer, both he and Dr. Shirley are sent to prison even though the latter did nothing wrong. And, despite being the main performer, Dr. Shirley is prevented from dining at the restaurant, with the manager stating that it's a 'tradition' which is an absurd excuse. During these scenes, I really felt for Shirley and I respected his character as he rarely complained. On the other hand, Vallelonga doesn't hold back and defends his boss.

Looking back at this year, in terms of films, it's been filled with a lot of sequels, remakes, which aren't necessarily a bad thing, however, I appreciated Green Book for its originality and telling a heartwarming story. It also showcases the acting talents of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali.

8/10