Green Book

Score:  B-

Directed by Peter Farrelly
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
Running time: 130 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Green Book is based on the true story of a world-class black pianist on tour in the 1960s, stewarded by a provincial white New York bouncer.  Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen serve as the talented, appealing leads with a good rapport, but they find themselves in a poorly devised mess.  Lacking the sophistication or sometimes even the responsibility of its cinematic kin, the film putters along well beyond its welcome.  Netflix if you're curious.


It's 1962 and "Tony Lip" Vallelonga (Mortensen), a bouncer, is out of work and increasingly desperate to provide for his family when he receives a tip that a doctor is looking for an assistant.  He finds that this doctor, who lives above Carnegie Music Hall, is a world-class concert pianist and about to embark on a two-month tour of the midwest and Deep South.  Reluctantly, Tony agrees to serve as Don Shirley's (Ali) driver and protector as he makes his way through performances large and small, public and private in places unfamiliar to both of them.  While the men come from completely different worlds, they find that they depend on each other to make it through an exhausting yet exhilarating journey.

Green Book has a tiny cast; essentially, it's just the odd couple leads and both of them give it their all. Viggo Mortensen's "Tony Lip" is arguably the slightly more central character in the story, and the role is about as far from his Aragorn of Lord of the Rings as you can imagine.  Mortensen gives a committed, impressive performance.  He developed a slightly paunchy yet beefy physique, and moves in a way that makes his enforcer background believable.  In everything from his thick Bronx accent to his lack of manners to his thickheadedness, Mortensen plays Tony on the edge of parody, at times slipping over due to the script.  But for the most part, Viggo saves the character from himself, coming off as sympathetic more often than pandering.  Mahershala Ali does very well, too, in a much more subtle performance.  He, too, is in a role far different than what I'm used to, which is typically confident and cool to varying degrees.  Don is obviously great at what he does, but Ali shows his insecurity and vulnerability clearly, too.  Don also strays close to cliche, unfortunately, although more so in the situations he finds himself rather than his behavior.  The most significant other roles are Tony's family, particularly his wife (played by Cardellini); Don's bandmates; and the various hosts for his performances, but none of these serve as anything more than narrative devices.

Green Book is a warm film with a few powerful moments and good humor, but it's ultimately undone by incredibly cliched plotting, a poor script, and a questionable tone.  By far the best thing about the film is the talent of its two leads, and the push-pull relationship they develop.  It's really the little moments between them that are the strongest parts, from Tony sharing his love of fried chicken with Don to Don's quiet but exasperated criticisms of the ineloquent but oblivious Tony - most of this taking place in the car they share for thousands of miles.  There are also some striking moments in this film that tries to tell both the macro-story of societal racism in the 1960s as well as the difficulty of individual relationships.  Don - and the audience - receives catharsis when he lets loose with a classical tour de force for a stunned black audience; and he gives Tony a piece of his mind in the pouring rain in the film's only genuine and insightful speech.  However, as good as Ali and Viggo are, the film is weighed down by a clunky, poorly-written script that produces a sanitized, numbing, sometimes even inappropriate tone (or perhaps the causation is the other way around).  The script is completely free of subtlety, which results in scenes drained of all impact, like Tony's saving Don from a bar pummeling, or even shocking thoughtlessness, like a sudden and glib revealing of Don's sexuality.  The film hits all the beats, more and more dutifully - and dully - as it goes on, that you expect from the subject.  Maybe it would be more acceptable in a vacuum, if racism was a brand new topic at the cinemas.  But we are living in a golden age of films on the African American experience, and we've seen this all before (or have the opportunity to, anyway) done much better.  Tackling these serious, heavy themes on the back of a light-hearted odd couple drama may be possible to do effectively - but it doesn't work here.

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Green Book is a disappointing entry in the Best Picture category of the 2019 Oscars.  When I found out about it last fall, the premise and combination of leads seemed quite promising.  It won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, which in some ways isn't surprising: it at least tries to be a crowd pleaser, more upbeat than, say, 12 Years a Slave.  And I have no problem with that type of film in general, even when combined with this serious subject matter - I loved Hidden Figures, for example.  But Green Book illustrates the dangers of this approach well, even when the performers are talented and respectful.  So fair warning if you were intending to see this:  you can just wait for it on Netflix if you really want to.




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