Film Review: Green Book (2018)

After the "Oscar race" concludes each year and each winner begins their (usually justified) journey into oblivion, film critics and future historians can start having fun analysing the reasons why a particular title managed to win the most prestigious golden statuettes. In 2019, however, that was a relatively simple task, even though the winner hadn’t been considered the biggest favourite until the very last moment and remained in the shadow of the much more hyped Roma.

The case of Green Book represents a textbook example of “Oscar bait.” Peter Farrelly’s film uses almost every ingredient of the formula that has proven effective over recent decades in winning over the voting body of the Los Angeles Academy. Thus, Green Book combines two genres quite receptive to the Oscars – biographical and road movie; its story is set in the early 1960s, a period Hollywood’s nostalgic gerontocracy considers a golden age; the main characters are, to a lesser or greater extent, connected to the entertainment industry, and therefore Hollywood; the screenplay strives to reckon with racism, xenophobia and other prejudices that Hollywood salon leftists consider the source of all evil in today’s world; and, finally, it’s a film where the actors carry the greatest burden.

Green Book is based on a screenplay for which Nick Vallelonga, one of three co-writers, found inspiration in the stories of his father, Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian-American bouncer who, thanks to his work in popular New York clubs, gained a series of influential friends and connections in the entertainment industry, and from the 1970s until his death had a career as an occasional actor. The plot begins in 1962 when the elite Copacabana club closes for refurbishment, forcing Vallelonga to find a job over the next few months to feed his family. An unusual solution to this problem is found in the character of Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a black pianist who lives in a luxurious apartment above the elite Carnegie Hall concert venue and is preparing to embark on a multi-week tour of the USA. Tony is hired as his driver, but must also perform duties as a butler and, more importantly, bodyguard for his demanding employer. Shirley, you see, must perform in southern states during the tour, where institutional racial segregation is still in force and where open hostility towards blacks who dare to behave as if they are equal in rights to whites is not uncommon. In all this, Tony uses the so-called “Green Book” as an important tool – a guide intended for black travellers that gives clear instructions as to which places blacks may use the same or different hotels, toilets, restaurants as whites, and which they may not.

And while at the very beginning of the journey significant differences are evident between the crude, uneducated but street-smart Tony on one side, and the refined, educated and dignified Shirley on the other, as time passes the two slowly bridge the mutual gap and become friends.

Director Peter Farrelly has done a rather good job here, mostly thanks to the fact that his work isn’t noticeable at all, let alone any “auteur’s hand.” One could almost say Farrelly did this to somewhat atone for the comedies he made with his brother Bobby two decades ago, in which he often pushed the boundaries of Hollywood toilet humour. That, of course, doesn’t mean Green Book is technically a bad film. On the contrary, Farrelly skilfully manages resources and succeeds in reconstructing America from over half a century earlier for relatively little money, whether it’s the set design, costumes, music or props. Most important, however, is that he chose, and maintained almost to the very end, a brilliant pace, so that even viewers who aren’t usually inclined towards this type of film won’t be able to notice that Green Book runs over two hours. Farrelly also quite deftly maintains a delicate balance between serious drama and light comedy, which is necessary for the audience to be able to enjoy such a production.

The film’s greatest asset, however, is the acting ensemble. This applies to Mahershala Ali, whose portrayal part of Shirley’s family attacked for alleged historical inaccuracy, creating controversy but also free publicity for Farrelly’s film. Ali manages to make the character of the refined, ultra-professional and seemingly cold musician unusually complex and lifelike, and it’s no wonder that two years after Moonlight he succeeded in winning his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Much more impressive, however, is Mortensen, who for the role not only had to master Italian accent but also gain at least ten kilograms. That invested effort bore fruit, so it doesn’t seem strange at all that the Hollywood superstar, who recently entered his seventh decade, plays a character half his age. Alongside the two brilliant acting talents comes good mutual “chemistry,” and thanks to it Ali and Mortensen manage to overcome numerous screenplay shortcomings, including clichés that would otherwise ruin much better-written films.

Although, as in many other cases, there will be the usual SJW busybodies who will blame Green Book for insufficient engagement or the “white saviour” stereotype, this film with its quality transcends sentimental “pap” and, with its story of two men who overcome their seemingly insurmountable differences, brings a smile to the audience’s face, reminding them that there exists a world better than ours, if only in Hollywood films.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)

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