Green Book

This review may contain spoilers!

This film has been little more than a joy to me and easily my favourite so far this year. I would give Green Book a 9/10.

Green Book is about Tony Lip being hired by Dr. Donald Shirley as a driver for Shirley's tour of the southern states; more specifically it's a tale of a friendship formed between two very different individuals. This film is an incredible exploration of the lives these two men live. Tony is a family man making ends meet who happens to be rather crass in his manner, While Dr. Shirley is a very composed musician who has an icy exterior concealing his inner conflict with how he is perceived versus why he plays. The pair seem strongly opposed to one another at first; Tony is a lout and has been influenced by a criminal background which gives the doctor misgivings. Yet as the pair begin to connect and understand each other Tony begins to drop some of his preconceptions about race, challenging his own views and questioning Shirley's own motivations. Watching a film in which these two individuals come to truly rely upon and protect one another is one of the most honest portrayals of race relations in recent years; it doesn't push the 60s through rose-coloured glasses but rather scrutinizes how one individual can shape and cause another to change in a positive light. The cinematography used throughout this film is very rich, drawing warm colours out of the driving scenes while also keeping the intimate nature of this feature consistent throughout. The editing is smooth and the film keeps a fairly good pace throughout. The score for Green Book is rather lifting, providing those scenes that require it with heavy tension while scaling the mood right back up in following scenes.

Mahershala Ali, who played Dr. Donald Shirley, gives this very highly strung, self-centred performance at first that hides the charm of his character very well; Ali really makes this a role who is so easy to connect with, one that you feel so much for as he breaks down over his struggles with his own identity. Linda Cardellini, who played Dolores, is this sharp-witted figure in the Vallelonga household who seems to hold everything together; Cardellini's emotional connection to her husband is a huge aspect of the film and watching her react to the letters affirms some of the better scenes of the feature. Brian Stepanek, who played Graham Kindell, was one of the few notable antagonists of the film; Stepanek presents a rather mild-mannered hotel/restaurant manager who exposes his true self in a venomous racist tirade.

However, the best performance came from Viggo Mortensen, who played Tony Lip. This role has such natural charisma that you come to like him very early on. It's a real balancing act to achieve this because some of the first scenes we see with Tony are examples of violence, duplicity and not so subtle racism. Yet I think Mortensen does a masterful job of giving this role an everyday quality, he doesn't seem the most competent, he's looking for work and he's a very present family man which makes this a figure the audience can relate to. As the film progresses and the real charming and humourous dialogue is exchanged between Mortensen and Ali it's clear just how much the role has changed his views already. I really love how this film moves to the point where Tony is protecting his friend and inviting him into his own home; the development of this role by Mortensen is a very powerful example of how we can challenge our own assumptions as individuals too.

This film has a journey laid out that comprise each of its acts, the story really plays out entirely predictably and if you're looking for a film that will surprise you then this isn't that. This film sets up what it wants to achieve very early on and when you get that come the end of the film it is highly satisfying but nothing short of an exceedingly safe narrative.

Sebastian Maniscalco, who played Johnny Venere, is a brother role that is really only present to flesh the first act out a little more; Maniscalco doesn't really play off Mortensen very well and he falls into the background a lot. Dimiter D. Marinov and Mike Hatton, who played Oleg and George respectively, are roles who are painted as being merely along for the ride; Marinov has a number of scenes in which he tries to bluntly point out aspect of the film's themes but this plays off as being rather heavy-handed. Don Stark, who played Jules Podell, is little more than a generic crook toting menacing dialogue; Stark's character feels a bit over-exaggerated and it's for the best the film didn't make much out of his sub-plot.