★★★★★
Starring Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dimiter D. Marinov, Mike Hatton
Directed by Peter Farrelly
2018 / 130 Minutes / Universal Pictures
Review by Brent
I went into Green Book not knowing a single thing about it. I didn’t even see the trailer for this one and I’m so glad I didn’t. I walked into this blind and walked out with a huge smile. Green Book is one of the best films of the year! It’s a remarkable film all around!
Viggo Mortensen stars in the true story of a working-class Italian-American bouncer that is hired to be the driver of an African-American classical pianist on a road tour through the American south in the 60’s. The fantastic screenplay does a great job of keeping the serious drama and humour perfectly balanced throughout. There are many really heartfelt funny moments and some really tough dramatic scenes as well. The friendship between these two men is fascinating and touching and I don’t know how anyone could not enjoy this.
Mortensen is brilliant in one of his best performances to date. He becomes this character more so than any other role I’ve seen him in before. He’s absolutely deserving of Oscar recognition and I hope he at least is nominated for this. He should have won a few years ago for the equally brilliant Captain Fantastic, but unfortunately lost that one. Mahershala Ali, who most recently won the Oscar for his outstanding performance in Moonlight, is fantastic once again in one of the best performances by any actor this year. He may even add to his collection of wins from Moonlight with a bunch more statues for this, and I hope he does. Also, Linda Cardellini doesn’t get enough recognition for her work and she is also really great as Mortensen’s wife and shines in the short amount of screen time she has.
Surprisingly Green Book is directed by Peter Farrelly, who also directed and wrote (with his brother) such films as Dumb & Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and Me, Myself & Irene. He took a big departure from his wild comedies and has made a superb film that still has some of that unique comedy (although definitely tamer than those previous titles). I’m impressed as a lot of his previous films haven’t really been that amazing, so to see him change course for this one and try a more serious turn he definitely outdid himself. He brought this terrific true story and these amazing performances together and achieved a fantastic joyous film.
I loved Green Book from beginning to end. It’s heartwarming and powerful. I found myself lost in it. It’s a celebration of a friendship that overcomes many obstacles. This movie isn’t going to correct the passed or solve all the worlds problems, but for 2 hours you can sit back and enjoy just one story that really deserved to be told.
Grade A+
