Green Book: Film Review
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardinelli
Director: Peter Farrelly
There are important things to say about racism in America right now, and in its past.
Unfortunately Green Book is not that film to do so, preferring instead to tread a middle of the road gentle path as fluffy and as cinematically comfortable as the blanket musician Dr Shirley swathes himself in in his car early on.
Inspired by a true story it may be, but this is Hollywood race relations 101 with every conceivable "twist" coming from a mile off, no matter how pleasantly and pedestrian-like it's executed.
It guarantees not to surprise in its tale of Italian Tony the lip (Mortensen playing the best bullshitter with two ts there ever was) and haughty pianist Dr Shirley (Ali) as this odd couple treads the usual route of a road trip movie, complete with stereotyped characters.
In 1960s New York, working-class Italian-american bouncer Tony Vallelonga finds himself out of work. Co-opted into applying for a job with classical pianist Don Shirley (a quiet and restrained Ali, precise and pristine), Tony finds himself driving the musician from gig to gig - and encountering the best and worst of the American Deep South.
But with some fine performances thrown in from its leads, its brush strokes will be palatable enough to audiences seeking a shot at redemption and unwilling to grasp the ugly realities of Deep South USA's racism from the past.
It's a shame that the script (adapted from Vallelonga himself) couldn't have thrown a few more curve balls into proceedings rather than the cliched set of sequences which unfurl. From the obvious segregation overtones to a police showdown, the film's aware to some degree of what needs to be shown, and hits every rote racism note it can.
However, when it's confined to the banter and the relationship between Tony and Dr Shirley, there's a geniality in this that's hard to deny. Sure, it's all perfectly predictable and safe, but there's a real feeling of an arc between the pair that makes for captivating viewing.
Less than a reverse Driving Miss Daisy, and with the obvious lessons being taught at every level, Green Book's clearly awards bait, a genial gentle throb of a film that's episodic, broad strokes and nothing more.
