The Oscars frontrunner that is equally funny and heartwarming. An outstanding biographical drama

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2019)

Green Book is directed by Peter Farrelly and is an Oscar contender for sure. That sentence is one that is still hard to fathom. That is because Peter Farrelly's previous credits as writer and director are for Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary, Me,Myself & Irene, Shallow Hal and the awful Three Stooges and Dumb & Dumber sequel. He's a comedy writer. He has some great movies in that genre no doubt but this is such a huge leap in a biographical drama that is a commercial and critical success that it is a career turn that nobody seen coming. Yes, there are several laugh out loud moments in this movie and Farrelly will have been able to engineer those scenes to be as funny as they were. Nevertheless, this is still a huge achievement for the producer, director and writer and I hope he is acknowledged on the ultimate stage.
It is hard to speak of the plot to this film in such a brief description. That is because throughout the entire movie you really get the feel that everything played out on screen did actually happen. There are several reasons for this but mainly it is because of the involvement of Nick Vallelonga as co-writer, the son of the real life Tony Vallelonga in the movie. You get the sense that his involvement really added an authenticity to the story and he was able to project his vision and history of his late father onto screen.
Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are both excellent in this movie. The characters themselves are very entertaining but Mortensen in particular really brings the Italian-American bouncer to life and he adds a charm and humour to the movie. It is amazing how well he pulls off Tony Lip when you compare it to his other roles in The Lord of the Rings, The Road and his 2 previous Oscar nominations Captain Fantastic and Eastern Promises. It really is a brilliant performance and it's a shame that once again he is likely to fall just short this year in the Leading Actor category. Mahershala Ali just goes from strength to strength. With his Oscar win last year for Moonlight still in the rear view mirror he adds another string to his bow here and I am looking forward to his turn in True Detective Series 3 this year. The pair of them have great on screen chemistry together and you really connect with the journey that they go on as a viewer.
I can't speak highly enough of this movie. It is a heartwarming tale of companionship and friendship at a time when circumstances prevented it culturally, socially and professionally. I would highly recommend this film and I think it has a real chance of winning Best Picture at the Oscars 2019. 9/10