Green Book (2018)
If you don’t dig very deep, Green Book is like Driving Miss Daisy with the seats reversed. It’s a terrific companion to the 1989 Oscar-winner and a highly enjoyable film in its own right. Both are worthy of praise with a lot to absorb. While artistic liberties abound, Green Book is based on a real story or, as the film’s poster tells us, “inspired by a true friendship.”
Set in 1962, the movie is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, published each year from 1936-1966, during the era of Jim Crow, when Black travelers weren’t allowed to eat at many restaurants, stay in many hotels, or even use their restrooms. This guide offered a list of establishments and local businesses that catered to them as they journeyed around the country.
The story is told through the eyes of the driver this time, a New Yorker who works at the Copacabana named Frank Vallelonga, also known as “Tony Lip” (Viggo Mortensen in an Oscar-nominated performance). Tony is head waiter and occasional bouncer at the nightclub until they close for an extended period to renovate. He then interviews with Dr. Don Shirley (Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali) for a position as his driver. Don is a renowned pianist embarking with his own trio on an eight-week tour through the Midwest and Deep South. Right away, it’s evident that Don lives by his own rules in a private world, something a successful and celebrated person of color could do in a city like New York in the early ’60s. He surrounds himself with the treasures of his global travels in a massive apartment above Carnegie Hall. He is also seemingly unaware or disinterested in just how bad it could be for him in the South. All concerns are eclipsed by a personal desire to bring his talent and music to the people and show them what’s possible.
Much of this story deals with preconceptions of the two main characters as they learn from each other, help each other, and grow to understand and appreciate one another. Of course, it’s not a smooth ride getting there. They begin by pointing out each other’s “oddities.” Don is disgusted with Tony’s vulgar habits and limited education while Tony teases Don about his unfamiliarity with popular Black culture. These scenes are played for laughs, which is the right approach to open doors and bridge gaps between controversial prejudices. It should be noted that director Peter Farrelly was known prior to this for helming a string of hit comedies with his brother Bobby.
The laughing stops and respect begins when Tony hears Dr. Shirley play for the first time. Mahershala Ali is a marvel as Don. Not only is he utterly convincing at the keyboard, he takes on the physicality and demeanor of a classically trained, jazz-infused pianist. He inhabits the role, and it’s a complete departure from his first Oscar-winning performance as the drug-dealing, Afro-Cuban mentor Juan in Moonlight. Viggo Mortensen is equally distanced from his iconic depiction of Aragorn, the rightful king of Middle-earth, in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and its two predecessors.
As they travel further west and south, Tony begins to witness the open discrimination against his boss. When Don is threatened and beaten by a group of White men outside a roadhouse bar, Tony starts throwing punches in retaliation. This is, of course, why Don hired him from the pool of applicants. Tony’s background as a bouncer comes in handy, and he warns Don not to venture out at night without him for the remainder of the tour. While they are on the road, Tony has promised to write to his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini), but his pathetic attempts at prose compel Don to come to the rescue. Tony takes down every word, and Dolores is overwhelmed and overjoyed when she reads the letters.
When all is said and done, Don has just two contractual demands for each engagement—a Steinway piano and a bottle of Cutty Sark whiskey waiting for him. Tony makes sure this happens, but things get dodgier and more intense in the weeks ahead. After entering the Deep South, Don is caught naked with another man in a sexual encounter at an athletic club. Tony activates his “wheeling and dealing mode” and bribes the two officers on the scene to call off the arrest. Later, their car is pulled over by two more policemen who threaten Don for being out after curfew in a “sundown town,” which is a Jim Crow law banning all non-Whites from the streets after dark. Tony explains they’re just traveling through and didn’t know about the ordinance before one of the officers turns on him as well. Tony ends up punching the cop in the face, and he and Don are carted off to jail. That’s when Don steps in and makes a phone call to his lawyer. Minutes later, this rural police station receives a call from the governor after being pressured to intervene by U.S. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. Don and Tony are released without further delay or incident.
I’ve seen Green Book referred to as a “White savior” movie, but I disagree with this assessment. As with the example above, Don saves Tony as much as Tony saves Don. These characters help each other out multiple times in the narrative. They learn from each other and grow from knowing one another, so it’s a “buddy” picture—a damn good one, too. In the end, they form a lifelong friendship after finding common ground. The Shirley family has refuted this friendship and the depiction of Dr. Shirley as a loner who was distanced from his relatives and his brother in particular, which is mentioned in this film. They find it hurtful and untrue. However, Don’s own interviews and recorded recollections contradict their opinions. In this case, I can’t write it off as “artistic license” when Don himself felt isolated from his family. It was the truth as he perceived it.
Green Book is a powerful film. It entertains, enlightens, and shows us what’s possible if we embrace our differences as much as we embrace our commonality. We grow stronger as a result. Prejudices and racism were rampant in 1962, and I’m sad to say they are just as prevalent today. Green Book introduces us to two multidimensional characters who surprise and inspire us on their journey navigating a bumpy road. In the end, they are “family.”
Green Book
Director | Peter Farrelly |
Primary Cast | Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dimiter D. Marinov, Mike Hatton, P.J. Byrne, Joe Cortese, Von Lewis, Iqbal Theba |
Familiar Faces | Viggo Mortensen from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Mahershala Ali from Moonlight |
Firsts | First Black actor, male or female, to win twice in the supporting category (Mahershala Ali) |
Total Wins | 3 (Picture, Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Screenplay: Original) |
Total Nominations | 5 (Picture, Actor: Viggo Mortensen, Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Screenplay: Original, Editing) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
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