First, the movie. Inspired by true events, Green Book is set in 1962. It's the story of Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga. When the New York club where he works as a bouncer closes down, he casts about for something to fill in. "Doc" Don Shirley is an accomplished Black pianist who has decided to go on a concert tour in the Deep South. He needs a driver (and brute) to get him safely to each performance, and hires Tony for the job. Along the way, the two forge a friendship that in real life would last the rest of their days.
To the degree this movie succeeds, it does so on the strength of its two lead performers, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. (And yes, I deliberately say "lead" performers, even though Ali was awarded the Oscar here for Best Supporting Actor.) Mortensen plays rather starkly against the type he's defined in his career -- especially if all you really know him from is the Lord of the Rings. Gaining 40 pounds (like Christian Bale for Vice, except no one as talking about it), adopting a Bronx accent, and stripping away any refinements, Mortensen staggers through this role perfectly devoid of class.
Mahershala Ali, in the classic tradition of buddy comedies and road movies, is the polar opposite. He's tremendously mannered and refined, polished and proper. There's a world of thought behind his eyes, and every statement he makes seems endlessly calculated and deployed with precision and care. It's a worthy performance to win an Oscar, because it feels like he's working twice as hard -- there's the outward performance, and the inner performance that he must first calibrate before every line he speaks.
Together, the two are a great team -- both as characters and actors. And they're quite funny. There's a lot of humor in the movie, and they deliver it with skill in the style of an Abbott and Costello, a Laurel and Hardy, an "Oscar" and "Felix." Linda Cardellini also has some good moments peppered throughout (including the last -- and best -- line of the film), though the movie doesn't afford her as much screen time. Bottom line, the cast makes this movie more enjoyable than I think it might have been on the page.
There are a handful of more profound and dramatic scenes as well. A car breakdown at the roadside leads to the movie's most powerful moment, one that unfolds with no dialogue at all. Elsewhere, strong monologues by Shirley articulate why he's built the mask he has, and what he sacrifices when it slips.
Yet despite a few powerful moments, the movie is actually quite lightweight overall. It's effervescent, likely to evaporate from the mind in a short span of time. Five years from now, I doubt I'll remember much clearly about Green Book.
Except, perhaps, for the controversy. Much of what I said above in support of the movie could just as easily form the basis of a screed against it. This is a 2018 movie "about racism," but it doesn't engage on that topic with 2018 sensibilities. It's a throwback of at least 10-20 years, a tale where one good friendship, one heart and mind changed, is enough to make everyone feel good and call it a day. Should a modern movie about this topic be this fun, this breezy?
More core to the controversy... well, I said it deliberately in my synopsis earlier: it's the story of Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga. Does the world need another movie about racism that's actually about a white person? You could mount at least a partial defense and say this at least isn't a "white savior" movie -- Tony does not reform or redeem Doc in the way Doc does Tony. But the movie is very much about Tony and his emotional journey. In fact, if anything, Doc seems diminished by his interactions with Tony by the end of this film, having given up something core to his identity. Maybe that's not how the actual friendship between the real men played out, but that's how you can plausibly read the narrative.
And that actual friendship between the real men is another issue that has been raised against the film. This script was written in consultation with the family of "Tony" Vallelonga, but they apparently made no effort at all to contact the family of "Doc" Shirley. And when interviewed about this, the writers generally seemed surprise that anyone would think that necessary.
All that's before you get into questions of separating artists from their art. Director Peter Farrelly has an alleged (but credible) history of exposing himself to people on the sets of his movies. Co-writer Nick Vallelonga spouted widely debunked ultra-conservative 9/11 conspiracy theories. Star Viggo Mortensen tried making a point in an interview by using the most vile of racial slurs, and had to learn that there's no way that goes over well regardless of intention.
As I saw a pithy commenter on Twitter observe: some day, they'll make a movie about the PR guy who somehow negotiated all those land mines and managed to secure a Best Picture Oscar for Green Book. And the movie about that guy will win an Oscar too.
While acknowledging all that criticism, I must still admit that I was mostly entertained by the movie. I'd probably give it a B+ overall, though the criticism is (on basically all points) totally valid and makes me wonder if that's too generous. In any case, I didn't think it was Best Picture worthy.... but it did just barely sneak on to my Top 10 of 2018 list, in the #9 slot. Part of me is hoping I find two other more worthy movies just to knock it off this list; it feels as though liking this movie even a little might become increasingly problematic.
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