Green Book

"You never win with violence. You only win when you maintain your dignity.”

Filmology Rating: 3.25 out of 4

Green Book stars Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) and Mahershala Ali in a film that takes place in 1962. Dr. Don Shirley (Ali) is a world‑class African‑American pianist, who is about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South in 1962. In need of a driver and protection, Shirley recruits Tony Lip (Mortensen), a tough‑talking bouncer from the Italian tri-state area. They essentially embark on a road trip.

This was such a delightful film. The audience I saw the film with was very respectful and everyone laughed and smiled. It was such a pleasant theater experience to enjoy such a good film with. The reason a film like this works are the performances. It's a film that doesn't have any overarching story goal, so the only thing that keeps the audience interested are the two leads. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) was really great. He pulls off a Bronx-Italian accent so well and to see him, this late in his career, in a terrific film like this is very impressive. Mahershala Ali also gives a great counter performance to Viggo. In the film, these two characters are polar opposites, not just in color, but in lifestyles as well.

Tony Lip (Viggo) is a poor, white Italian while Shirley is a rich African American. In the film, Shirley is described as white on the inside, but black on the outside because he does not share the same interests and lifestyle as most Africans during this time in history and there is a terrific speech about not being black enough or white enough to be accepted by either race. It's just a great scene.

Throughout the film, Tony Lip and Doc Shirley begin to learn from each other. Doc learns what it's like to be on the streets with real people while Tony Lip learns to be more literate. It's so subtle in the rubble of social commentary and it really works on an emotional level.

I also want to point out how razor sharp the dialogue and comedy is throughout the film. Usually an indie film tries way too hard to be funny, but this film keeps it character based and 95% of the comedy landed with me and the audience, who seemed to be really enjoying the film as well. I also want to address whoever put Sebastian Maniscalco in this film because for years I have been watching his stand-up comedy and he is hilarious. Seeing him appear in this was such a delightful surprise. Also the actor who is Arwin in The Suite Life of Zach and Cody is also in this. Like, what has that guy been doing? So it's great to see a weird cast.

My only critique is that the film is 15ish minutes too long. There is a sub-plot that is put in the ditch near the middle, however I thoroughly enjoyed the film and thought it was a relaxing, delightful time.

Seeing a film like this felt like a sigh of relief. It really does because I felt like I could sit back and watch a movie without being worried about it taking some left turn into absurdity. The smile on my face could not be wiped off while watching this film.

Rating: See It

-Nolan