Predictable, full of clichés and overly simplistic

Rating: 3/10 (23 January 2019)

I had high expectations based on the positive reviews but was quite disappointed.
The story had a good potential to explore a relationship between a sophisticated black pianist who employs a white working class driver as they travel through the US south in the sixties. They have seemingly nothing in common, from the way they were brought up, the way they speak and eat, their family backgrounds and financial situations, their way of treating other people. As they spend time together on the road trip, they start to appreciate each other and learn from each other.
What bothered me was that the characters ended up being caricatures instead of being believable. The film tries to depict their differences to the point that it did not make sense. For example, we are supposed to believe that a black musical genius pianist never heard of Aretha Franklin or Little Richard? Or that he never tried fried chicken? I also thought that Viggo Mortensen was slightly over-acting.... The racial problems were not depicted in an authentic way.
The movie just received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, likely because of the social commentary and not because of great film-making.