Quietly magnificent

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2019)

Green Book has a lot going for it. A story so incredible, it would be hard to believe if it weren't based on real life. Two fantastic actors Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali giving best performances I've seen from them. (Not that I've seen that much, but I thought the latter was 10 times better here than in Moonlight that got him an Oscar). And Peter Farelli's precise, no frills direction, which I felt was perfect for the story. Parts of it were unavoidably predictable - a black man goes to the deep south in 1962 to perform to all white audiences - bad things are bound to happen. But nearly every predictable episode had a quite unpredictable resolution. And I loved how Tony wasn't just transformed by the extreme racism he witnessed - towards someone he knew and have come to respect, he was also kind of cultured by his overeducated boss. And the fact that Tony was the one who in turn introduced Dr. Shirley, sometimes rather forcefully, to African American music and food was a nice touch.