Green Book

### Extras

Virtuoso Performances, An Unforgettable Friendship, Going Beyond the Green Book, Trailers

Green Book is a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film distributed by Universal Pictures.

## Plot

New York City bouncer Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga is searching for new employment while the Copacabana nightclub, where he works, is closed for renovations. He is invited to an interview with Doctor Don Shirley, an African American pianist who is looking for a driver for his eight-week concert tour through the Midwest and Deep South. Don hires Tony on the strength of his references. They embark with plans to return to New York on Christmas Eve. Don's record label gives Tony a copy of the *Green Book*, a guide for African-American travelers to find motels, restaurants, and filling stations that would serve them.

They begin the tour in the Midwest before eventually heading farther south. Tony and Don initially clash as Don is disgusted by Tony's habits while Tony feels uncomfortable being asked to act with more refinement. As the tour progresses, Tony is impressed with Don's talent on the piano, and increasingly appalled by the discriminatory treatment that Don receives from his hosts and the general public when he is not on stage. A group of white men threatens Don's life in a bar and Tony rescues him. He instructs Don not to go out without him for the rest of the tour.

Throughout the journey, Don helps Tony write letters to his wife, correctly spelling and rephrasing passages which deeply move her. Tony encourages Don to get in touch with his own estranged brother, but Don is hesitant, observing that he has become isolated by his professional life and achievements. In the south, Don is found in a gay encounter with a white man at a YMCA pool and Tony bribes the officers to prevent the musician's arrest. Don is upset that Tony "rewarded" the officers for their treatment. Later, the two are arrested after a police officer pulls them over late at night in a sundown town and Tony punches him after being insulted. While they are incarcerated, Don asks to call his lawyer and instead uses the opportunity to reach Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who pressures the governor to release them. Because Tony lost his temper, Don is frustrated that he had to distract RFK who, with his brother JFK, are working hard for minority rights.

On the night of the final performance on tour in Birmingham, Alabama, Don is refused entry into the whites-only dining room of the country club, the same room in which he has been hired to perform. He can order from the menu but must eat in a small changing room. First Tony says to Don that it is the last show, and he should order from the menu so they can finish and go North. Tony then threatens the owner, and Don calms him down, saying he will let Tony decide whether he should play or not. Tony walks out, followed by Don and the management yelling about a contract. Tony takes Don, still in white tie and tails, to get dinner at a predominantly black blues club, Orange Bird, where Don rouses the crowd with a passionate Frederic Chopin’s Winter Wind etude before being joined by the very impressed blues band. He then plays as one of the band which gets everyone on their feet dancing.

Tony and Don head back north to try to make it home by Christmas Eve. While en route on a snowy road they are stopped by another police officer. To their surprise, the officer turns out to be a Maryland State Trooper who simply wants to help Tony safely change a flat tire and doesn't harass them. Later, Tony is too exhausted from driving in the snow to get home without sleep and says he will stop at the next lodging. The same night the car arrives in the snowy Bronx with Don driving and Tony asleep in the back. He wakes Tony, who invites him up to meet his wife at his home, but Don wishes him a merry Christmas and returns to his own apartment. A Christmas party is in full swing at Tony's place and he is given a grand welcome by all those present. Tony is very happy to see his wife after a long time. Behind late arriving guests Don appears at Tony's place with champagne. He is embraced by Tony and then his wife, who warmly thanks Don for helping Tony with the letters.

## Extras

* Virtuoso Performances
* An Unforgettable Friendship
* Going Beyond the Green Book
* Trailers

1. On the Basis of Sex
2. The Bookshop
3. Boy Erased
4. A Private War
5. Backdraft 2