On an award season
podcast one pundit said “Green Book” is likely his mom’s
favorite movie of the year even though she hasn’t even heard of it
yet. Accurate. The film is entertaining from start to finish with
completely compelling performances from its two main actors; they
create a delectable chemistry together. General audiences will eat up
the film; especially those who are prone to patting themselves on the
back for seeing an “important” movie that deals with serious
issues like racism. The film takes the point of view of a prejudiced
white Italian-American man as he chauffeurs a distinguished black
musician around for a concert tour of the segregated American South
in the early 1960s. There’s comedy, there’s drama. In the end the
white guy learns a valuable lesson and you leave the theater with
your heart full. I felt conflicted – the movie works because of the
performances and does leave you with a sense of hope but I can’t
help feeling the movie is just another manipulative white savior
story about how racism is bad.
How Peter Farrelly,
the co-director of such comedy hits as “Dumb & Dumber” and
“There’s Something About Mary,” came to a story about a white
and black guy becoming friends while navigating the segregated South
is beyond me. The direction is fine. You can tell this is the work of
a man who makes colorful, broad crowd pleasing comedies. Maybe it was
the road element that attracted Farrelly to the project. Maybe he
wanted to make a statement. Maybe he just wanted to try his hand at
Oscar bait. But is a white guy from Rhode Island really the best
choice to tell the story about how a prejudiced white guy learns to
respect people of color? Farrelly is up for the challenge and he
succeeds for the most part. But that sort of thing ultimately doesn’t
really matter because the film that we’re given is actually a
pretty enjoyable experience. And that’s because of Viggo Mortensen
and Mahershala Ali.
Mortensen is Frank
Vallelonga a stereotypical Italian-American New Yorker with a family
who works as a bouncer at the Copacabana and is looking for other
work after the club is closed for repairs. He is recommended for a
job as a driver for Don Shirley (Ali) a dignified pianist who is
going to be taking a tour of the Deep South in the months leading up
to Christmas. Don is a black man and there’s an immediate culture
clash between the two men, but Don needs Frank because he’s a tough
guy who doesn’t take anyone’s BS and will protect him as he
enters the racially charged Southern states. Of course Frank has is
own hang ups about people of color. As the film progresses we learn
more about these men and how they begin to learn about each other and
change for the better. Some scenes could have been a bit
cringe-worthy in less capable hands like an amusing scene where Frank
stops at a KFC to enjoy fried chicken and he gets Don to eat the
finger food for the first time. I sort of admire how the film plays a
bit with some stereotypes and sort of calls them out.
Considering that the
film is essentially an odd couple road trip movie, the script from
Farrelly, Brian Hayes Currie and Nick Vallelonga (Franks’ real life
son) is pretty strong but I sometimes wonder how the film could have
been even more authentic had people of color been the ones
writing and directing it. Some authenticity is lost to be honest. And
the fact that one interesting aspect of Ali’s character is sort of
introduced and then glossed over felt frustrating. The film feels
like it’s more about a white guy learning a lesson than a
historically accurate portrayal of the horrors of being a black
person in the South in the 60s. But this really isn’t that movie. I
also have the sneakiest suspicion that the main audience for this
film will most likely skew white and older. The type of audience who
doesn’t necessarily run to ethnically diverse films. The film also
generally feels a tad dated with a strong “Driving Miss Daisy”
vibe but I’d watch this a million times before watching that film
again. And the film's technical merits are fine but nothing groundbreaking.
In the end “Green
Book” did actually win me over. It’ll probably win you over as
well. The film works despite its flaws. Loping so much criticism on
it because I did genuinely enjoy the film makes me feel a bit bad.
It’s a crowd pleaser. It’ll warm your heart. You’ll wanna tell
your family to go see it. There’s a reason this film kept winning
audience award after audience award at various film festivals.
Mortensen and Ali are extremely likable people and they play
characters that you want to root for. Frank is capable of change and
that’s a strong message even if it feels a tad manipulative. Ultimately the movie is a satisfying mug
of cocoa on a cold winter’s night. But I do think there are more
important films that do a better job at condemning racism and how to
this day we as a country are still dealing with a horribly systemic
issue that plagues our society. Maybe “Green Book” will change
some people’s minds and make them feel a bit better about race
relations. And that’s a good thing. But in a time where a
progressive film like “Moonlight” can win Best Picture at the
notoriously white Oscars, “Green Book” sort of feels like it’s
stuck in neutral. GRADE: B
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