music, friendship and prejudice

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2019)

'Green Book' seems to have been designed according to a recipe for winning Academy Awards. The subject is historic but with reverberations in current politics and the approach is in tune with the mood at Hollywood. It addresses one of the painful topics of recent US history, but it does it in a sufficiently careful manner to get a rating that makes it accessible to audiences of almost any age. It has as a hero a musician and includes a lot of (good) music at a time when musical films are again enjoying great success. The cast includes a couple of well known actors who are given the opportunity to play consistent roles. Finally, the film is based on real life heroes and a true story. And yet, despite all these arguments, I do not think the 'Green Book' will be able to gather too many statuettes.
The story of the friendship between the high-class musician and the driver he hired for a two-month tour of the Southeast US of the 1960s is unusual. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) was an exceptional musical personality, one of the virtuoso pianists of his generation, but he could not get recognition into the world of classical music because of his Jamaican origin. He played a brand of sophisticated jazz for rich audiences. Yet, the rich musician, accustomed to first class hotels, when in tournaments in the southern states, as a black singer, he was subjected to racial discrimination in the still partially segregated America. Don 'Lip' (Viggo Mortensen), the driver and bodyguard hired to accompany him on the trip is an Italian from the Bronx, not missing a dose of benign racism. A lot seems to separate them, but the differences in race, culture, social classes and personal tastes will be tested and will melt during this road trip together that allows the two to get to know each other and to learn each some lessons from the experience of the other.
What I liked. The music. The authenticity of the details. The acting performances of the two lead actors, but also of many of the ones in supporting roles, including the non-professionals. The way in which the realities of the 1960s are brought to screen.
What I liked less. The predictability of the script. I was several times in the situation of anticipating a few minutes in advance what was going to happen on screen. The director and co-screenwriter Peter Farrelly went too far to make of 'Green Book' a feel-good film to be enjoyed by the audiences and especially by the jury of the Academy. The result, even if it has the excuse of being inspired by a true story, is conventional and syrupy. I think this movie could have been much better if it did not try that hard to be a crowd-pleaser.