Feel-good movie about race relations
I think this year will mark the first time since 2015 that I’ve seen at least one of the films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Ones I’ve seen include “Black Panther,” “BlacKKKlansman” and now “Green Book.”
Now, I’m in this predicament where I can’t decide which one I want to win more, but that’s beside the point. I wasn’t able to catch “Green Book” back home, so when I saw MoviE-Town was doing a limited release, I hopped on that chance immediately. Let’s get into this cool flick!
New York, 1962. Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) is a respected bouncer in the Bronx. An Italian-American family man, he struggles to find work after the club that employs him is closed for renovations.
His new work ranges from eating contests to considering offers from the Mafia. One day, he gets an offer from a Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) for security personnel.
Surprised when the address he has been given leads him to a concert hall, Tony is even more surprised to learn that Shirley is a concert pianist…and African-American.
Tony and Shirley must grapple with their misconceptions about each other and their own shortcomings as humans as they embark on a concert tour of the Deep South.
I did not recognize that the man himself, Aragorn, was in this movie until I saw Mortensen’s nomination for Best Actor. His accent is so convincing and his appearance has changed so much over the years that I was convinced that a born-and-bred New York actor was playing Tony.
Nope. Mortenson is just that good of an actor. Also, thank you to the casting director for casting someone who actually knows Italian to play a role where they must speak it several times. I appreciate you.
While I did really enjoy Mortenson’s performance, the real set piece of this movie, for me, was the fabulous Ali. When your first scene is you waltzing around in your luxurious apartment in a traditional bazin and taking a seat on your literal throne, I’m going to have a hard time focusing on anything but you for the rest of the film.
Ali has a masterful composure; his character of Shirley is very reserved for a majority of the film. But he also manages to come off as totally sincere. His chemistry with Mortenson should be the prime example relationships in film, no matter what kind.
All-in-all, I believe “Green Book” is the gold-standard of a feel-good movie, offering valuable discourse to today’s race relations. Watch it, for me, please!
Rating: 9/10
