2018 Best Picture Contender

Kaleidoscope’s newest is on Amblin’s & Participant Media’s production of “Green Book.  Directed & co-written by Peter Farrelly, the movie stars Viggo Mortenson, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, & Sebastian Maniscalco.  Rated ‘PG-13’, it has a running time of 2 hr., 10 min. 

Tony ‘Lip’ Vallelonga (Mortensen) is employed as a bouncer at New York City’s famed Copacabana nightclub in 1962.  After he ejects a man who happens to be a member of 1 of the crime families, Jules Podell, the club’s owner is forced to close the club for renovations.  In need of a job, Tony answers the want ad of a Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a black pianist who resides above Carnegie Hall.  Shirley is embarking on an 8-week concert tour of the Mid-West & Deep South with his 2 accompanists, ending on Christmas Eve in Louisiana.  Based on Tony’s excellent references, ‘Doc’ offers him the job of being his tour driver.  After discussing the offer with his wife Dolores (Cardellini), Tony accepts.  Don’s record label gives Tony half pay up front along with a copy of the ‘Green Book’, a guide for black travelers detailing which establishments, such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc., would serve people of color.  As they begin their tour in the Midwest, this ‘odd couple’ finds itself at odds with each other's habits—Tony acting insulted as he is asked to be more cultured & refined by Don & Don being disgusted at Tony’s eating, smoking, diction, etc.  Act I ends as the they make a left turn on the map & head to the Deep South. 

At 1st glance, one is surprised that Farrelly; the author of such nutty & raunchy comedies such as ‘Dumb & Dumber’, ‘There’s Something About Mary’, & ‘Me, Myself, & Irene’, among others; would take on a serious project such this.  One is even more surprised, then, at the sensitivity with which Farrelly handles this subject matter.  While the script by Farrelly, Brian Currie, & Tony Vallelonga’s son Nick offers dialogue with plenty of humor, the dramatic scenes are written with compassion & dignity.  The contrast between how Don is treated in the Midwest compared to the South is presented fairly while acknowledging that while racism is more overt in the South, the subsurface prejudice in the North & Midwest is almost as bad—as exemplified by Tony’s family’s comments & views.  There has been controversy concerning Shirley’s family’s comments on both the way Don is portrayed & what they feel is an unbalanced focus on Tony compared to Don.  One must recognize that the film is ‘inspired’ rather than ‘based’ on true events—this is an acknowledgment that the film plays more loosely with the facts than had it been a ‘based’ on treatment.  One should also recognize that the screenplay is co-written by Tony’s son, that it is based on interviews Nick did with his father & Don & on the many letters that Tony wrote to Dolores over the course of the friendship.  The cast is superb.  Mortensen is excellent as he captures Tony’s subtle transformation from a rough-edged man who may not have even been fully aware of his underlying bigotry to a man of compassion both in his treatment & understanding of Don—achieved thru his growing appreciation of Don’s talent & his exposure to how Don is treated by others—and in his treatment & expression of love to his wife Dolores.  While I am rooting for Rami Malek to win the Best Actor Oscar, I would be perfectly satisfied if Mortensen achieved the feat.  Ali continues his amazing growth in the depth & breadth of his acting.  From his innocuous start in the 2000’s NBC series ‘Crossing Jordan’ to “House of Cards’, ‘Hidden Figures’, his Oscar win for ‘Moonlight’, and current mesmerizing turn in season 3 of HBO’s ‘True Detective’, he has become a major talent in both TV & film.  He captures a multitude of emotions as Don, & he creates a fully 3-dimensional person who deals with the various places in life in which society, his family, & he has placed himself.  He should definitely win his 2nd Best Supporting Actor Oscar on February 24th.  Cardellini, while she does not have much screen time, delivers a gracious performance as Tony’s understanding & supportive wife—a woman who transcends the inherent prejudice within her extended family.  Kris Bowers’s score is outstanding in its well-composed themes that reflect the film’s emotions, confrontations, & feelings of the major characters.  Sean Porter’s cinematography and Patrick J. Don Vito’s editing are professional & serviceable but not memorable.   

I give “Green Book” 4½ out of 5 nuggets.  It is a major film of 2018 that is concurrently a road picture & buddy film.  It is also one that focuses on the sad state of race relations that led to the civil rights movement—unfortunately, a struggle that exists to today.  If you have not already, head to your local multiplex ASAP to see this important & highly entertaining film.