Crowd pleasing thanks to its humor and performances, but ultimately overly predictable, bland, and forgettable

Rating: 6/10 (17 February 2019)

I have few big complaints about Green Book, but just an hour after watching it little of it stayed in my mind. It's a dramedy focused on the relationship between a working class white guy and a black pianist in the 1960s. Mortensen and Ali are both excellent in their roles, with Mortensen bringing some depth to an exaggeratedly written character and Ali bringing a balance of professionalism and emotion. Their relationship certainly has its share of humor, and it is fun to be along for the ride as they banter. I didn't think the racial elements of their relationships and identities were well explored, with the exception of Ali's monologue about how he doesn't fit in with any community. Mortensen was overtly racist early on, and there's no real explanation for why he's quickly so willing to work for a black high class man and put those prejudices aside. The differences in viewpoints and nuance were largely brushed aside in favor of a broader, optimistic arc where both of them are just good friends who save the other from racial/class problems when they need it. The ending does a good job of bringing full circle the themes of courage and integrity, but they still feel quite surface level and manufactured for easy, light satisfaction. The humor is fine and adds to the movie but isn't essential to it. It's a movie that's easy to sit back and go along with, but a hard one to think deeply about and come away with new elements to ponder. It's a crowd pleaser, but felt all to predictable and pandery to be memorable.