Excellent historical biographical movie with a dose of Hollywood...
This is a very charming movie. The movie deals with stereotypes and racism in the 1960s as well as you would expect. Racism is bad, stereotypes aren't always true but the journey is fun with these two. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are both fantastic. They play very well off each other. Being directed by Peter Farrelly there are quite a few funny moments too.
The sad truth is... I have never eaten fried chicken while driving a Caddy wtf man
I typically don't watch movies that about racism because it gets me triggered to see and hear the horrible things my people had to go through. If you go to the deep south (Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama) these days, it looks like slavery left yesterday.
Anyway, the acting was phenomenal. I don't think the studio could have found two better actor than Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali.
Overall, the film was very human, very charming, but also funny. It had little bit of everything. 7/10
I understand where some people are coming from, but I think people need to remember that not every film needs to hit a diversity quota, or needs to provide a profound or awakening experience, or tell exactly how things were, or are. This film sets out to tell a story about the forming of a genuine and true friendship. It is a lighthearted and feel good movie.
If you think every movie needs to be politicised.. needs to be driven by a certain ideology.. then you just need to take a sit back. Remember, movies are timeless, and we will always have the serious movies such as Mississippi Burning and 12 Years a Slave. Sometimes it is good to have a feel good movie, even when set in a serious era, with serious themes.
please give a oscar to this beautiful friendship history
I think that this beautiful film is, above all, a wonderful story about humanity.
“The world is full of lonely people afraid to make the first move.”
Not going to lie but this pulled at my heartstrings. The change within Tony isn't crammed down your throat. The flow of the character's development is natural and organic.
I loved Tony Lip, he was an adorable, affectionate and funny person. I love that he has always been hungry. LOL
The friendship between them was beautiful. They learned a lot from each other and grew up as better people.
It's like your friend the President says “Ask not your country what you could do for it, ask what you do for yourself.”
How much I enjoyed this movie, I'm glad I gave it a chance.
I honestly expected this movie to be really slow and boring. I was pleasantly surprised about how into it I was. Their relationship was very heart-warming and there was new drama at each stop. It’s not the most exciting movie, but it kept me watching all the way through. Recommend for sure!
We did it guys! We solved racism!
All jokes aside, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are both terrific, but the writing is absolutely atrocious and I hate how the movie was shot - it reeks of cheapness. It's one of the most forgettable and bland best picture winner in recent memory.
Yes, even worst than 'Crash'.
Viggo Mortensen was phenomenal! One of the best acting performances I have seen in my life.
I loved this piece of art , it's one of best movie I have ever watched ,
Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly, tells the story of a wealthy black musician (Mahershala Ali) hiring a tough-talking white chauffeur (Viggo Mortensen) to drive him through the US Deep South in 1962. The movie is based on the true story of the friendship between the two men and their experiences on the road trip. The performances of Ali and Mortensen are superb and the film explores themes of racism, bigotry and empathy. The narrative is simple, but the film is engaging, entertaining and full of moments that will charm and infuriate. The ending may be considered syrupy by some, but it worked for this reviewer and the film delivers a powerful message about respecting and embracing differences. Overall, Green Book is a feel-good movie that is well worth watching.
Green Book, dirigida por Peter Farrelly, cuenta la historia de un músico negro adinerado (Mahershala Ali) que contrata a un chofer blanco que habla duro (Viggo Mortensen) para que lo lleve por el sur profundo de EE. UU. en 1962. La película está basada en una historia real. de la amistad entre los dos hombres y sus vivencias en el viaje por carretera. Las actuaciones de Ali y Mortensen son magníficas y la película explora temas de racismo, intolerancia y empatía. La narrativa es simple, pero la película es atractiva, entretenida y está llena de momentos que cautivarán y enfurecerán. Algunos pueden considerar que el final es empalagoso, pero funcionó para este crítico y la película transmite un poderoso mensaje sobre el respeto y la aceptación de las diferencias. En general, Green Book es una película para sentirse bien que vale la pena ver.
I loved everything in this movie except dear Viggo Mortensen’s quaint slash stereotypical Italian mannerisms (i.e the excessive hand gesture thing).
It is a decent movie. Not spectacular, but well-made, quite interesting, and pleasurable to watch. Would recommend.
Loved every bit of this movie. I had no idea it was based on real people, but what a great story. Mahershala and Viggo were fantastic.
Viggo Mortensen's role on crude, racist (and kind of a funny in the way of perceiving the world) Italian nightclub supervisor Tony Vallelonga (or as they preferably say, Tony Lip) was a good experience to have.
Underneath the snob, out of his roots portraying of Don Shirley, there is, probably several missing spots on the story from the Shirley's perspective (whether how he can't acknowledge the artists playing on the radio or how he couldn't connect with "his" people on a fundamental level). It's based on a true story but portrayal of some characters might be a bit stretch.
Although I had fun watching both actors together as an "odd couple" trope, reality perspective could've been much more inclusive to the real story and real people (which characters are based on). A feel-good movie with successful comedic bits and acting. 7/10
It shows the pain of being different and how it feels to be discriminated and the humiliation that comes with it.
1.8 points -> Cinematography (0-3)
1.3 points -> Acting and Characters (0-2)
1.9 points -> Plot (0-3)
0.8 points -> Score (0-1)
0.8 -> enjoyed the movie. (0-1)
Aka. 7.9 points
I just sat and enjoyed the whole time. Good actors, good dialogues.
The great adventure of two very different people, an Italian and an African American, set in 60s.
Green Book will make you laugh, feel sad and truly captivate you for the whole two hours of its duration.
A must watch, totally worth the Best Picture award of 2018.
Fun to watch and interesting, but a little too... nice, I would say. Not a family movie, but in the vicinity of one, which isn't bad in itself unless you're desiring a more true or actual account. The best part for me was Viggo's acting, which was great. A little surprised it won best picture.
It's a good movie and I liked it but admittedly it wasn't as great as I was expecting. The trauma was typical of what any black artist of that time faced but we didn't really get to know the characters enough to really feel it as much. And most of the big issues felt brushed over because we never saw it from Dr. Shirley's perspective, so all we would see was Tony arriving after the fact so by the time we hear about it its mostly over anyways, which made the movie very one sided. It was still good but I felt like it could have been better.
Nice movie. I don’t think I saw a movie with this heart-warming of an ending since Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Such a good movie.
Definitely deserved to win over Black Panther. I think black people were only mad about that. Because they are tired of movies where a black man needs the help of a white man.
Probably also due to the fact that the white actor got top billing and it was directed by a white man. Either way it was a sweet movie about prejudice and standing up to it. It was also informative about what black people went through in the 1960’s.
Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen were phenomenal. I think it was a far more important film than Black Panther, that’s why it won. Definitely should also be seen as a win for black people.
A fantastic movie that will stimulate all your emotions. Fantastic chemistry between the cast is a big plus.
"This is an expertly-acted, perfectly telegraphed message movie that knows the buttons it's pushing, and pushes them all, right on cue. This is not a knock against it, it's a compliment".
This was so heartwarming and funny! I don't know much about how Italian-americans dealt with oppression and such, as I don't particularly know much american politics besides modern politics and the civil rights movement. However, I think this movie perfectly captures what lower-class, (second-degree) immigrants / Italian-americans can learn from lgbt+ black folks, and vice versa. I did have a problem with how the movie breaks down black stereotypes, but still has Mortensen act the most stereotypically Italian-american I've seen in a long time. oh well. it was a great movie!
Ah yes, last year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture. Had not gotten around to watch it yet, because I was a bit afraid that I wouldn’t like it. The first half I was still being sceptical, but around the midway point in this movie, as the friendship between Tony (Viggo Mortenson) and Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali, deservedly winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) takes a turn into deeper and personal emotions, this movie becomes something more. It’s really something special, and all it took is some excellent casting to bring this story to the screen. I had a hard time believing that something like this really happened, but it did. Of course they took some liberties to make the story better for the screen, you have to or it doesn’t sell. But it’s there. You love them for their qualities and dislike them for the faults they show, but you always end up liking them more and more because of how they push themselves to accept these faults and try to do something about them. At the end, they are changed men, but still the same. And I think that’s really beautiful.
This movie has my favourite quote of the week.
Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga: “The world’s full of lonely people afraid to make the first move.”
An inspiring movie about friendship, a descent movie about being human
On the other hand it was Cliche and nothing was new about it
I didn’t expect this to be such an impactful movie. The racism stuff is shocking (as always), but the way you see the friendship grow really sets it apart from other movies. It has the perfect balance between lighthearted and serious. And it even made me chuckle a few times. Amazing film!
It's a solid feel-good movie with great acting. Would've enjoyed a bit more of Don's backstory though.
Excellent movie .. of two men each in their world, who try to understand each other and negach in Seder in their worlds, ... recommended. :thumbsup:
that's wonderful story, I watched it 3 times without getting bored even for 1 minute
Amazing story of clash of two separate worlds - racially, intellectually even personally. It's a nice reminder in today's times to be kinder and open to the other person and above all be curious of their way of doing things, way of thinking and be influenced in a positive way.
It's a beautiful story of a friendship which wouldn't happen unless fate interfering.
I think it was the best adapted movie I watched!
This movie was able to show the problems of America in the 60s well with the smooth and dominant acting of its actor and its good process.
Also, this movie will not tire you at all and will take you along with its good and attractive process. So that you don't feel tired at all while watching this movie!
I love the narration of this movie!
This one took me far too long to watch as I am not a sucker for the Oscar worthy/winning movies. This one is an exception. It is a great story that was engaging and thought provoking throughout. Still not something I would turn on casually, but one I am very happy to have watched.
Rating: 4/5 - 8.5/10 - Would Recommend
Life often writes the best screenplays. The one, although with light humor, but struggling with the real problems of the world.
As a film, it's fine, even good. But as a film about racism, it definitely falls short.
The only way I know how to describe the pitfalls of this movie is it tries to "both sides" racism in a way. Sure, Shirley has it bad being a black man in 1960s America but Tony is working class Italian so really they're kinda even.... Yeah, maybe I'm oversimplifying but there's something wrong with the depiction here. Tony is really racist. And, by the end, there's no indication that he's not still racist while simply liking this specific black guy. As for Shirley, it feels like they just made him a snob to give him a character flaw. But it doesn't really work because, you know, being a snob doesn't compare to being super racist.
Look, Viggo and Ali give great performances, the cinematography is good, all of the technical components of the film are well done. But this is a film about a disturbing topic and it just seems surface level. And I think the fact that it won an Oscar for Best Picture shows how understandings of racism continue to be misguided in the US.
This movie starts out a bit boring, but the more the journey goes on, the more attached you get to the characters. Surely it has its heartwarming moments, but it plays way too safe and ends up being kind of shallow and simplistic despite the themes it tries to analyze. There have been so many movies about the matter, and you need a more profound or at least interesting approach in 2018 to make it worth it. Still a pleasant movie but can't understand why it got so many awards.
WOW! I’ve never seen such great and funny movie
The world is full of lonely people afraid to make the first move. Tony Lip
i like the movie. Good preformance by Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali.
It was very good, the story was intersting, was emotionally sometimes.
A refined, classically trained black pianist recruits a blunt, tough-guy NYC Italian to serve double duty as both chauffeur and protection during an upcoming tour of the still-segregated south. Cruising along the back roads and highways in a curvy blue Cadillac DeVille, the pair quickly dispenses with the pleasantries to share a few essential truths, each giving as much as they take. They rankle and irritate, an odd couple on wheels against the backdrop of a volatile social change, but through several close shaves and heated arguments, they develop a mutual admiration despite their fundamental differences.
Mostly a two-man show, Green Book thrives on the performances of Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who enrich twin roles that could have otherwise fallen into broad generalizations. The life and depth they bring to both individuals, and to their complicated friendship, make for more than just a standard morality play. It's also an impressively restrained turn for director Peter Farrelly, better known for his work with brother Bobby in a series of zany '90s comedies. He lets the tone set itself, resisting the urge to bludgeon us with the message, and sprinkles in a few solid laughs when the moment calls for it. A well-made and effective, if overly safe, best picture winner.
great movie. A smart and fun way to analyze prejudice against black people in a time of change. a lightweight approach that managed to focus on the positive side rather than the victimisation. well done!
Clearly the lead actors, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are top-level actors and they both show this in Green Book. The story revolves around these two men and focuses on their relationship on a long road-trip so everything about Peter Farrelly’s real-life story stands or falls on their performances.
From this point of view Green Book stands tall and both Ali and Mortensen and great screen presences that are easy to watch and make the experience pleasurable.
The racism on display in the Deep South of the United States in the very year I was born in 1962, is perhaps not as shocking as the makers think, as it is still clearly a thing in the modern world and people who can read and research or indeed watch or read modern fiction will know that this was going on and how it was supported by the majority white population in this areas without question. So, what is Green Book trying to say?
Well if Tony Lip was as racist and bigoted as suggested then it is how a dip into some real racism in the home of segregation made the scales fall from his eyes and changed him as a person. Maybe or perhaps the uptight and prissy Don Cherry was shown a different way of thinking and living, perhaps making the scales the fall from his eyes? Probably.
You must be honest this is not a new idea or type of film, so it has to say or do something entirely different. Unfortunately, some of this is manufactured, apparently Cherry was not as unaware of the lives of ‘ordinary’ folk as made out, so his outlook and life-view were written in to make a dramatic point. A black man with no clue about black culture in the USA, as a white British man I find this unlikely.
We are treated to some good-old-boy racist cops and the rather clumsily a ‘real’ good cop when the men get back up east. Not subtle at all.
That’s the problem with Green Book, the ideas, the story and message are all laudable and put into dramatic form enjoyable and this film was enjoyable but there is nothing original on display here and it was certainly nothing I have not seen before.
Green Book looks great, harking back to the old days of the 60s States, it shows the terrible inherent racism in some classes of the US public and highlights the different types of bravery of two entirely different men facing up to this and how it created a bond between them but it has been made before, many times, and to break that mould it needs to be something entirely fresh – not just outstanding acting.
Green Book is Driving Miss Daisy just role reversed.
It is good, but it is not that good.
Genuinely good, and perhaps deserving of that best picture Oscar it won earlier this year. Ali and Mortenson are both fantastic, and the script is well done, without being heavy-handed in the way it presented its racial themes. A stunning achievment from the director too; this film is far removed from the trademark comedies he is known for.
DISCLAIMER: I did not see this movie in its original language(English), but in a dubbed version(Italian). I may have missed some nuances.
Don't get me wrong, it was an entertaining movie. Just not Oscar worthy to me. The drama was not emphasized enough, we basically only hear about it from Don. We never see it. That makes the impact of a very serious theme much more light.
The cinematography was very beautiful, I really liked how they managed to capture the South scenery.
Mahershala Ali was probably the best part of the movie. Great acting, if a bit exaggerated at times. Wish I could say the same for Viggo Mortinsen. Mediocre at best, though I don't know how much of it was his fault. His character, Tony Lip, felt almost as a parody of himself.
For a road trip/drama/comedy movie it's not the worst. It makes you feel good as you watch the two protagonists grow and it makes you think in a gentle and delicate way about a harsh reality.
6.5/10
P.S.: I wish that the green book from the title would have been featured more, its basically mentioned a couple of times and then forgotten.
FILMAÇO DA `PORRA! Ao ver se entende melhor o peso do racismo nos anos 60', fazendo uma analogia com os dias presentes ainda não é difícil ver os mesmos hábitos opressores.
Amazing movie with brilliant acting performances and an especially heartwarming ending.
Interesting movie. Viggo Mortensen was excellent.
Davvero un bellissimo film, commovente a tratti divertente, non conoscevo la storia.... Due grandissimi attori! consigliatissimo
This movie was enjoyable, and i usually have "big" standards when it comes to movies ao there's that.
Tony Lip has quite a bad character development at the first part of this story, but overall this is quite good movie.
Perfect movie. Messages that movie give us is very important.Everything seems normal now.But at the past we lived that with shitty rules.
Tony Lip: “P.S. Kiss the kids”
I gotta say it's a decent movie, but still, it's not any close to being best picture worthy. The gags are repetitive, the actors overact all the time, the way the portrayed doc makes the character hard to believe, and they totally missed the true values on Don Shirley making that epic tour trip. I have seen my fair share of road movies, and this movie only fit in the average among them. Last but not least, as much as i like Viggo Mortensen, him playing Italian is quite laughable and I was expecting way more than a Robert De Nero copy from a multi-oscar nominated actor.
Nice movie with great messages and directing.Made for oscars 7.6/10!
Brilliant movie,deserved the Oscar loads more than black panther!
//EN-GTranslate
Road Movies of the 1960s and Racism in America? I do not always agree with the evaluation of the Oscar, but also for me a very nice and unexpected surprise. In a non-violent form, this movie cuts you down, and you will feel somewhat happy with the final titles ..
Maximum rating 10/10 - included in a personal movie collection.
//CZ
Road Movies o 60-tých létech a rasismu v americe? S hodnocením oskarů ne vždy souhlasím, ale i pro mě velmi milé a nečekané překvapení. Nenásilnou formou Vás tento film rozseká a při závěrečných titulcích se budete cítit, tak nějak spokojeni..
Maximální hodnocení 10/10 - zařazeno do osobní filmové sbírky.
Love this movie, a must see.
We enjoyed it , there where a few twists that made it better then we anticipated
Really nice movie. It makes us reflect on racism, a so delicate theme earlier and now. Skin color shouldn't be a problem and insted, unfortunatly, it is. During sixties in America black people weren't allowed to enter the same places of white people, so to make them easier travelling someone wrote a guide, the Green Book, to evidence places where they could or could not go. Today black people can go everywhere, fortunatly, but we didn't overpass the raciam problem yet. This film shows us that people are just people, and if they are white, black, yellow or green doesn't matter.
I recommend the wiev in the original language. I watched the movie in italian, but the dubbing didn't let me appreciate it totally. The translation in other languages deleits the strong difference between the perfect and highlocated english of Shirley and the italoamerican slang of Tony.
Loved this movie, it’ll make you think, laugh and cry
I'm here for Linda Cardellini and Mahershala Ali the rest is baloney... said Viggo Mortensen overdoing an Italian accent
wow nice, movie after a long time
Intouchables meets Driving Ms. Daisy.
Not bad, but not original or creative enough to be truly great.
Green Book is a slow drive down the middle of a road you know like the back of your hand. It's a pleasant enough trip with its highlights and lowlifes and absolutely no surprises.
If the film wants to make a statement, it needs to have something to say. As it stands, it's simply an old postcard of another, more racist time that certainly merits to be remembered but perhaps not as dismissively as it is here. Yes, African Americans were treated horribly in the South in the early 1960s...but they still are today!
Green Book is a pretty film on an ugly subject, but has neither the immediacy of Blindspotting nor the vision of BlacKkKlansman. While the director apologizes for serial sexual misconduct and the Islamophobe writer / son of Tony 'Lip' Vallelonga tries to hide his racism and the family of Dr Donald Shirley deny the two men were friends, perhaps there are more deserving subjects for our recognition and praise than this glossy photo of a time that is not as past as the film would lead us to believe.
same story same pohto same point same idea whats new .. all respect for reall ppl but what the point ... very normall and longeeee filmee
Absolutel quality film with a whole range of emotions
Perfect Christmas movie. Viggo Mortensen is a strong candidate for the Academy Award.
Really good movie with great message. More people need to see this movie it's really sad that things used to be like this we've came a long way as a society but still have a tremendous way to go. Mahershala Ali was really good but Viggo Mortensen was the standout to me.
My favourite thing about this movie is how human it is, how human it feels. It tackles an incredibly serious issue, yet it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it's comedy is perfectly timed and doesn't take anything away from the important conversations and issues that are raised all throughout. It manages to show both the uplifting and the horrible, discouraging things this world is full of, and the fact that it's a true story makes it all the more inspiring. Incredible work by both Mortensen and Ali, I thought their chemistry was on point. It made me laugh my heart out, reflect, get angry, and cry.
9/10
EDIT: As a result of Green Book's wins at the Golden Globes it has come to my attention how one sided the portrayal of Shirley and Lip actually was in this movie, with Lip's testimony and his family taking the reins and Shirley's family barely getting any say on what made or didn't make the film. I did think the whole vibe of Don not being "black enough" all throughout the movie smelled funny, but I figured - if this is how he really thought, then this is how they should show it. Well, I guess not only did he not think that, that entire narrative was constructed by a creative team composed of like 90% white people - and then Octavia Spencer - that really did not do justice to Dr. Shirley. He also apparently didn't consider Tony a close friend in real life, had previously refused to make a movie about their friendship when he was still alive, and was never estranged from his family like the movie shows you... So I really don't know what to believe. My laughter and tears were genuine while watching this, but I might have to watch it a second time, with all of this new information in mind, to really reconsider the whole thing.
8/10
Great movie. Didn't even realise it was Viggo, didn't look like him at all!
Attended a Cineworld Secret Screening, with no idea what the film was going to be. It was Green Book. Had it not have been for the Secret Screening, I probably wouldn't have gone to see this film, but oh boy would I have missed out. The film was superb, the acting unreal and the message/story brilliant. Straight away I was hooked, right through until the end. A must watch.
This movie is great on so many levels: the acting is superb (Mahershala Ali, Viggo Mortensen and Linda Cardelini completely win your heart); the writing is well crafted (balancing tension and wit); the period is faithfully represented; and the characters are full and believable. I went to this movie expecting it to be good, because of the talent involved, and I was thoroughly entertained. I give this movie a 9 (superb) out of 10. [Drama based on a real friendship]
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-02-08T04:47:13Z
[5.0/10] Green Book is quaint. It is the cinematic equivalent of a Hallmark card on race relations, there to make you feel good, reflect the real world in only the vaguest, gentlest way, and then be quickly discarded and forgotten. It is thoroughly lacking in incisiveness or genuine insight, and its take on race and overcoming divisions is about as deep as a thimble. The film’s perspective is limited and provincial, when it’s not out-and-out troubling, and at times even insulting, in its oversimplifications.
The movie tells the story of Tony Vallelonga, a hearty spark plug of a man from The Bronx, who drives Don Shirley, a cultured piano player, through the South on the latter man’s music tour. Green Book is founded on the tension between Tony’s salt-of-the-earth, profane, and uncouth manner, informed by his working class Italian upbringing, and Dr. Shirley’s mannered, measured, and at times aloof bearing, informed by his position as a black man who has to operate in white circles. Along the way, the two clash and come into conflict, but inevitably find common ground and camaraderie through their shared experiences.
That in and of itself is not a bad premise for a film. There’s pathos to be wrung from the intersection of a man kept on the fringes of society because of his class and one ostensibly welcomed but always held at arm's length because of the color his skin. There’s a common understanding that can be established between one man who holds prejudices until he’s forced to confront real people and not just abstractions, and another who looks down on those less devoted to dignity until he learns to appreciate the heart that persists even where manners are lacking. And there’s catharsis to be had from the shared realizations of someone who is the master of his own circle but ignorant to the realities of the wider world, and one who’s seen the world at a distance but comes to know the greater warmth of community and family.
Green Book just doesn't actually achieve any of that. It tires. God help it, the film tries. And if you squint, you can see where the movie gestures toward these ideas, and in exceedingly rare moments, even grazes them. But those noble efforts are lost in its crayon-sketched characters and events, its rampant clichés and archetypes in lieu of depth or complexity, and its bent toward reassuring its audience of who’s really good and who’s really bad rather than confronting the gray areas or the systems that reinforces the types of bigotry the film seems to shake off so easily.
Some of that could be forgiven if the movie, for all its attempts at feelgoodery and humor, were more pleasant to watch. It’s characters are, at best, difficult to like. Even setting aside Tony Vallelonga’s racism -- the fodder for his “I’m a real boy!” transformation over the course of the film -- the character is mostly obnoxious. He’s a pale cross between Tony Soprano and Homer Simpson, with an Olive Garden version of the former’s bearing and perspective, and charmless version of the latter’s doltishness, loyalty, and appetite. He is, even at his best, a large foul-mouthed toddler, always having to be told not to give into his worst and easiest impulses. I’m a firm believer that characters need places to go, to grow, in films, but Vallelonga is annoying for too long in the film to find much merit in that approach here.
While Dr. Shirley is, at least, not so eminently grating as Tony is, the film still needs him to grow and change as well, and so makes him rude and condescending for much of the picture. It’s easier to swallow here, since while Don Shirley is occasionally a bit unreasonable, he’s mainly either having to navigate spaces where he’s made insecure or even at risk because of his skin color, or responding to one of Tony’s immature missteps. What’s more, Shirley has the benefit of being played by Mahershala Ali, who deserves better than this film and its script, but who adds layers to Don’s emotional reactions to the different challenges he faces, and breathes life into the relationship between him and Tony that’s poorly written, but nevertheless the backbone of the film.
The best things you can say for Green Book apart from that performance (wasted on a film that doesn't deserve it), is that it’s nice to look at and listen to. Cinematographer Sean Porter not only captures the scenic beauty as Vallelonga and Shirley traverse the American South, but uses a wide shot of Dr. Shirley surrounded by isolated by his possessions to convey his inner loneliness, and communicates Dr. Shirley’s awkward place between white and black society better visually than the film can ever manage with its ham-handed dialogue.
At the same time, so many films try to frame a main character as a virtuoso or a talent or a star, and the actual presentation falls flat. That’s a pitfall Green Book avoids entirely. When Don Shirley sits down to play the piano, his performance takes your breath away, and the audience is not only knocked back by the sumptuous melody and talent put on display, but understands how even hardscrabble Tony could be moved by it too. Between the music itself, the masterful playing from double and real life pianist Kris Bowers, and the nuanced acting of Ali, each time Dr. Shirley sits down in front of a Steinway, it’s a treat.
But those gifts are squandered on a story of friendship that’s as predictable as it is unearned. The film is rife with questionable moments. (For example, in one scene Tony cajoles and eventually persuades his African American counterpart on the merits of fried chicken.) Green Book is going for the old chestnut of the prejudiced but well-meaning man with a heart of gold. But it’s take on racism is so archaic, its prelude to Tony’s changes so full of slurs and backwards views and general prickishness intended to somehow be endearing, that when he finally does come around, it’s too little too late. Tony loves his family and eventually does right enough by his partner, but the film gives us too few reasons to root for him, and is often misguided in how it tries to demonstrate his decency or Don’s failings and peccadillos.
There is occasional warmth, and even joy, in Green Book. But in the final tally, it’s a film that seems built for 1989 instead of 2019. Its “can’t we all just get along” and “both sides need to grow” messages ring hollow in the current era where there’s a growing acknowledgment that our cultural ills are neither so simple nor succinct. Even apart from its dime store observations, hacky dialogue, and mealy racial pablum, it just doesn't present much in terms of its story or characters worth investing in. Not every Oscar-calibrated film has to make a truly powerful statement, but it should at least make for engaging cinema, and despite its strenuous and strained efforts, Green Book fails on both fronts.