- Actors: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
- Director: Peter Farrelly
- Writers: Peter Farrelly, Brian Currie, Nick Vallelonga
- Producers: Peter Farrelly, Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Nick Vallelonga
- Disc Format: 4K, NTSC, Subtitled
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (DTS 5.1)
- Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
- Region: Region A/1
- Aspect Ratio: 2:1
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: March 12, 2019
- Run Time: 130 minutes
Green Book is not the film I ever
expected to see director Peter Farrelly make when I first watched There’s Something About Mary many years
ago, and it certainly isn’t the film I expected to win Best Picture for this
past year. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprise, considering this makes three
years in a row that the Academy has given the award to a film about diversity
and discrimination (The Shape of Water may
not directly be about race, but I think the allegory is clear). Green Book seems far from the best film
of the year, but it is a safe choice in terms of balancing audience enjoyment
and social message.
Apparently this
is what audiences wanted or needed this year, as many of the heavier dramas
went unnoticed during award season and in most of the box office numbers.
Although inspired by a true story, the film takes many liberties in order to provide
the feel-good narrative that audiences can swallow without any difficulties. In
other words, although the film is easily digestible, the viewer with a more
sophisticated palate may be aware that they are being fed the cinematic
equivalent of baby food. Perhaps the most upsetting thing about the changes
made to the real-life story is the fact that they end up creating the same “white
savior” narrative that was a problem when Driving
Miss Daisy won Best Picture in 1989.
The alterations
also led to outcry from the family of Dr. Don Shirley, played by two-time
Academy Award-winner (the second being for this performance) Mahershala Ali,
who is often treated as a secondary character in the film. The true lead is
Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian bouncer and family man trying to make
ends meet living in the Bronx in 1962. When
faced with the option of working for the mob or driving a black musician across
the Mason-Dixon line , Tony takes the more
admirable choice. That’s what characters do in this type of movie. For a movie
about race issues, every moment of prejudice and racism is depicted with
over-simplified situations of good vs. evil, and only the good characters are
round and well-developed.
Despite the fact
that Dr. Shirley is a world-class pianist deserving of playing the most
prestigious music halls, he makes the choice to tour in the south to make a
point. This is a point that will inevitably meet conflict, which is where Tony
comes in. As well as being his driver, Tony becomes a much-needed bodyguard and
something of a friend along the way. It is all very predictable and
heartwarming, if you can ignore the contrivances and narrative manipulations. This
is easier to do because of the effectiveness of the acting.
Ultimately, this is a film that would
be far less impressive with two different lead actors. The direction, writing,
and nearly every other element of the filmmaking are unremarkable. Even the
melodrama is almost perfunctory, and it is only the effectiveness of the
performers which allowed me to accept them as real people, and not just devices
to make an obvious point about race relations. Mortensen packed on weight (as
often helps in receiving award attention) to play Tony, also providing the
comedic relief of the narrative, as he is constantly eating throughout the
movie. Ali takes the heavier sequences in the story, but his character also
often feels too melodramatic as a result.
Despite my misgivings about Farrelly
as a director, Green Book is actually
surprisingly well shot, providing a halfway decent reason to advocate for a 4K
purchase. The 4k Ultra HD makes the colors pop, even if the film uses a lot of
earth tones. There are also deeper darks in the night scenes, and the audio is
pristine. At the same time, the film is just as enjoyable on the Blu-ray disc
and digital copy included in the package. There are three featurettes in the
extras, although none are much more than five minutes and they are all
basically just promotional. It is also telling that Tony Lip’s son is
interviewed in one of the features, while Dr. Shirley’s family is pointedly
absent.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 8.5/10
Special Features: 3/10
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