Great movie: may seem predictable in its destination but it's the journey that matters

Rating: 8/10 (13 July 2019)

1962. A bigoted Italian-American bouncer, Tony Lip, gets the job of driving Dr Don Shirley, renowned African-American pianist, on his tour across the mid-West and South. The two could not be more different.
I did not have high expectations for this movie. I knew it would be good, but figured it wouldn't cover any new ground. Moreover, it seemed like a reverse Driving Miss Daisy (not that DMD is a bad movie - quite the opposite - but that it had been done before).
I needn't have worried. The outcome is fairly predictable, but that doesn't matter: the getting there is original, interesting, engaging, thought-provoking and great.
Director Peter Farrelly sets the scene well and paces the movie to perfection. The characters of Tony Lip and Don Shirley are well drawn and developed, making for high engagement levels. You can see their views and characters evolve before your eyes, see the events that shape them and how these influence their future actions. There's also a decent smattering of humour to aid the engagement.
Some great social commentary too, especially on racial attitudes of the day and on tolerance in general.
Mahershala Ali got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Don Shirley, and well deserved the award. Great work too from Viggo Mortensen as Tony Lip, resulting in a Best Actor nomination (he ultimately lost out to Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody).
The movie itself won the 2019 Best Picture Oscar.
Great film.