The race for the five Best Actor nominations might be the Academy Awards’ toughest race. It seems like Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) is a lock. There has been some major buzz for a couple of movies that have run in limited release only (Ethan Hawke – First Reformed) and Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate). Ryan Gosling had a huge push heading into First Man, but that movie was completely underwhelmed with critics and audiences, and his fine performance could be a casualty in this tight year. A new crop of contenders could swoop in for a spot or two (Rami Malek –Bohemian Rhapsody), John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased). And then there are a couple of oldtimers who turned in a couple of possible final career performances (Clint Eastwood – The Mule) and Robert Redford (The Old Man & the Gun). But I will state, for the record, that one of the men listed above, not named Bradley Cooper, will be knocked out for the career-defining role of Viggo Mortensen (Appaloosa, A History of Violence) in Green Book. We can talk about Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Hidden Figures) all that we want (and we will). But Green Book is a Mortensen-driven vehicle and a movie that is an absolute must-see. I am a huge Mortensen fan. The Road is one of my all-time favorite movies, and his performance in 2007’s Eastern Promises was absolutely deserving of an Oscar nomination. But I was not a huge fan of 2016’s Captain Fantastic (a film I enjoyed to an extent but had no desire to review). I absolutely thought that the Oscar nomination should have gone to Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals). If, based on the preview, you are worried about Green Book basically being Driving Miss Daisy 2, rest assured that it is not. That, honestly, was my biggest trepidation. And don’t let the PG-13 rating fool you either into thinking that this will be something light-hearted and fun. It pushed the envelope with its language and tone at times. I’m not going to say that this is as dark as the Tom Cruise/ Jamie Foxx 2004 movie Collateral, but it is not designed that way either. While that movie, too, was driven by the performances of its two leads, I don’t think it had nearly as much to say as Green Book did. And I’m also not going to suggest that this movie doesn’t play out exactly as you might expect it to because it absolutely does.
The movie begins in 1962 New York. We are given the line, “Inspired by a True Story.” After fact-checking on the History vs. Hollywood website, it turns out that this movie was pretty darn accurate. I’ve stated numerous times on my blog that a good story becomes great or a great story becomes excellent when you learn that the “true story” claim is just that. And a great story gets knocked down a peg when afterward you learn of all of the liberties that the director took in trying to make the movie more appealing. I’ve had movies that would clearly be in the top half of my Top 10 of each year that I drop completely because the parts that I thought to be true actually were largely fictionalized. I don’t particularly appreciate being fooled. At times it is maddening. But that is not the case here. As a result, the great Green Book elevates itself from good to great.
In any case, Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen) is a doorman, peacekeeper, and enforcer at New York City’s famed Copacabana nightclub. Nicknamed “Tony Lip” because of his uncanny ability to bullshit and talk himself out of every situation imaginable since he was a kid. The only thing more impressive than his mouth might have been his brute strength. And while he was strong physically, he also had an incredible appetite that added not just muscle to his body but a gut as well. It was actually a little strange seeing the usual incredibly fit Mortensen with a bulge protruding from his sleeveless, ribless undershirts that we saw more than once during this film. With the Copacabana shutting down for a few months for renovations, Tony is in need of some work. He’s an Italian family man, very much in love with his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini – Daddy’s Home, Welcome to Me) and their kids. We also learn that Tony is a little bit of a racist (if not a full-blown one). We witness him throw into the trashcan two of the family’s drinking glasses after he had seen them drinking a beverage that Dolores had provided them after doing some work around the house.
Tony is mentioned that there is a man in need of a driver for a few months. It turns out that the man who needs this is a world-famous refined pianist named “Dr.” Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali – Moonlight, Free State of Jones) who is set to go on a two-month tour that will take him and the other two men (a bassist and a cellist) in his trio throughout the Midwest and the southeastern portions of the United States. Tony comes highly recommended as a man who cannot only drive but help provide some protection in some, certain to get hairy, situations in the deep south that, in 1962, don’t all take too kindly to a successful black man. Dr. Shirley knows that Tony is his man even before Tony does. It just takes a little convincing and the approval of Tony’s wife to take her husband away from her for such a long stretch.
As mentioned, from here, it is fairly formulaic. Tony and Dr. Shirley get to know each other through the extensive time they spend in the car together. Tony is given The Green Book before the start of their voyage. The Green Book is The Negro Motorist Green Book. It was a segregation-era guidebook for African-American motorists that alerted them to which restaurants, hotels, etc., offered service to blacks. Travelers would also encounter “sundown towns,” which prohibited blacks from being outside after nightfall. These books were available at places like gas stations, and 15,000 copies of them were sold a year, with the first one coming to print in 1936 and then continuing to be published annually for the next 30 years. I had never heard of The Green Book, and, sadly, this existed. In fact, it makes me sick. The distinction between the perceived “privileged” and “underprivileged” in our society, particularly in this country, is and will continue to be something that I don’t understand. All we can do is fight for fair rights for all in the time of history that we exist in. We still have major racial, gender, and sexual orientation issues and/or discrepancies in the United States. We can fight so that future generations can say that we made a difference. Unfortunately, I believe future generations will look at this period of time in history in this country and see nothing but political discord and a nation divided. But that’s neither here nor there in this review.
I mention how fantastic Mortensen’s portrayal of Tony was. His transformation from his racist point of view to a man who saw these incorrectly perceived views sort of melt away the more that he got to know Dr. Shirley was made even stronger with the equally outstanding performance of Ali as Dr. Shirley. Fabulous in his Academy Award-winning role in Moonlight, I thought all future roles of his would-be compared to that. I no longer think that. He portrayed Dr. Shirley in a way that showed a talented musician who is profoundly lonely that he is incapable of experiencing any true joy in his life. He drinks a bottle of alcohol a night, always in solitude. Married and divorced before the movie’s events began, Dr. Shirley has no meaningful relationships in his life. Interestingly, when he was approached about a biopic being created about his life, Dr. Shirely readily agreed but said that he did not want the production of the movie to begin until after his death and that he said that anything that Tony said would be the truth. There are a couple of situations in this film that show some injustices happening to Dr. Shirley… situations where the only other person who could portray those stories would be Tony. And he trusted Tony with these stories. Ironically, Tony and Dr. Shirley died within three months of each other in 2013, but the screenplay for the movie had already mostly been written (I think). The friendship that developed between these two men might be the best friendship non-romantic relationship that you’ll find on screen this year. Formulaic? Absolutely. But it’s a story that should still be watched (and enjoyed) to see how these two men brought the best in each other and helped, if not melt some racial lines in the south, to at least cause people to evaluate the situation differently.
This was the ultimate road trip movie of 2018. But it was so much more. I understand that plenty of people don’t see this movie because they feel like they know how the movie plays out without having to see it. And I understand that. Nevertheless, I implore those on the fence to give it a shot. You might know the gist of the movie, but you don’t know all of the specific stories associated with it. And even if you did, this movie has the best dynamic between the film’s lead character and the film’s supporting character that you will see in a film this year.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 10/10
Character Chemistry 10/10
Acting 10/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing 9/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 9/10
Hook and Reel 10/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
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