Peter Farrelly's Green Book

Rating: 10/10 (25 November 2018)

I love it when filmmakers who are usually classified, or tend to stick within one genre, or type of film only and then they eventually break that cycle and area of familiarity and do something radically different. In recent years I have cited examples such as Adam McKay who got away from his Will Ferrell films to do The Big Short, and not only was it the best reviewed film of his career, but it also won him a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. Something that most likely would not have happened if he had just stuck to his usual fare of manic if not sometimes annoying comedies. Also please take Todd Phillips who is also known for often raunchy teen oriented comedies such as The Hangover trilogy and others that pretty much fall into the same category. He branched out and tried a mix between comedy and drama in War Dogs, and whilst the film got mixed reviews generally, I would personally say that it was the best accomplishment of his career and further reaching out for new goals, he was also the producer of this year's version of A Star is Born which has been a big hit with audiences, critics and at the box office. Some say that it still has a very good chance to nab several Oscars, possibly even Best Picture. Now in this case with Green Book, we have writer/director Peter Farrelly who is again known for mostly doing gross out, or raunchy and immature comedies such as the Dumb and Dumber films and various others. I have liked some of his and his brother Bobby's work in the past, especially something like There's Something About Mary, but more often than not, their particular brand of humour was often far different than my own personal taste. This time around, Peter takes a true story and helps write the screenplay and directs, but here he chooses a film that has just as much if not more laughs than the films he would normally do, but also at the same time he gives the film a timely message of friendship and acceptance and I think anyone who is not deeply moved by the film on some level probably saw a different film than I did. It is full of rich humour and some of the best work from dependable actors Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. The film is all the more timely because as we all know the problem with racism in our world is still running rampant and how refreshing it is to see two men from completely different backgrounds and are more or less worlds apart from one another and how they form a bond and connection that will lead to a lasting friendship and a road trip across the Southern United States that I doubt either man would ever forget. Viggo's character is a bouncer in several nightclubs in the Bronx area of New York. He has a large appetite, uses coarse language on a regular basis and is a little rough around the edges and tends to have a habit of either winning people over with his schemes and dubious personality, or at the same time completely offending, or turning people off as in the case of Mahershala Ali's character. Ali's character is a concert pianist with many degrees and doctorates and is very well spoken and educated. He couldn't be more different than Viggo's character if he tried. And there is also the cultural differences such as Viggo's Italian background and Ali's character being of African American descent. This looks like it would be the worst possible match in history and yet Viggo drives Ali's character across the United States for about two months to get him to his various different concert performances. The two will occasionally bicker with more often than not, Ali's character being completely exasperated and often offended and turned off by Viggo's character's more street type talk and peronality. However, as time goes by the two do form a common bond with one another and actually start to become friends. As well as on several occasions while in the deep Southern states that Viggo will come to Ali's rescue and one humourous instance where Ali uses a powerful ally to bail them out of a tough spot. This is a film about putting any and all prejudices aside and seeing goodness within your fellow man and learning to appreciate that. This road trip truly shapes these two characters in marvellous ways and we see that deep down under a rough exterior that Viggo's character has a huge heart and that Ali deep down is dealing with loneliness and his own trials and tribulations, but is further helped by Viggo's friendship and way, or should I say lack of way with words and handling people. This is an absolutely wonderful film that made me laugh more than any other film this year and at the same time it warmed my heart and moved me and helped me to appreciate the racist attitudes of the 60's when the film takes place and again show how we still need to further move ahead as a society. The performances by the two leads are I think the two best male performances I have seen this year and the characters are so wonderfully vibrant and full of emotions, personality and life all thanks to a meticulously researched and well scripted story for our actors and characters.
A film of this type of quality does not come along too often, so I suggest you see it while you can and do not be surprised to see various Oscar nominations and even potential wins. One of the best films of this year.