Green Book

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini

Director: Peter Farrelly

Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) is well known throughout New York for his skills in “public relations.” His current job as a bouncer at the Copacabana is on hold as they remodel. Needing a job, he agrees to be the driver/protection for Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), an African American musician, as he takes his band, the Don Shirley Trio, on tour through the very racist South for two months. Tony, a working-class, Italian American with a 6th grade education, is quite racist himself but takes the job for the money. As the tour progresses, the two men not only learn new things about each other but about themselves, leading to a true friendship. The film took TIFF by storm, winning the audience award, and has been building momentum ever since. It’s not hard to see why, as Viggo and Mahershala drive the film. Both actors are at the top of their game, despite Viggo putting on a very heavy Italian accent that would have been at home in Goodfellas. Ali, coming off a best supporting actor win for Moonlight in 2017, continues to show he is a major talent and should hear his name called again come awards season. His reactions to Tony’s impropriety are quite entertaining. If one wanted to be cynical, one could point out that racism won’t be solved with a car ride. It’s a fair point, but the film is based on a true story and the prejudices found in both men really were solved through a two month car ride. People should instead take a lesson about compassion from the film and see what happens once you open your ears and heart. Sappy, I know, but their relationship in the film really worked for me. I also like that there was no artificial antagonism or antagonist in the story. Viggo and Mahershala have their differences and this results in realistic interactions and builds their relationship organically. The South gets to be the antagonist and it definitely steps into the role well. But again, that’s how it was in the 60’s so it never felt forced. There is a fair bit of comedy in the film, which one should expect from a director like Farrelly, and for the most part it works. But he also does something smart, letting Viggo and Mahershala take the reigns in the dramatic scenes and carry the emotional heft of the film. The world needs something uplifting right now. To that effect, Green Book ably fills that role. A-