Green Book
- Director: Peter Farrelly
- Writer: Peter Farrelly; Brian Hayes Currie; Nick Vallelonga
- Producer: Jim Burke; Brian Hayes Currie; Peter Farrelly; Nick Vallelonga; Charles B. Wessler
CGiii Comment
They say opposites attract...well, here's the proof.
Green Book is a slow burner...slowly - but, surely - the warmth notches up until the cockles of your heart are well and truly toasted!
Essentially, this is a road trip with a stereotype at the wheel. Viggo Mortensen is that driving cliché...as rough-and-ready as any bullshitter out there...he - simply - shines - so brightly - in this role. And that brightness can only be attributed to the chemistry that he and Mahershala Ali share. They bounce off of each other better than any professional ping-pongers! Their affection towards each other...oooh, it's bloody marvellous to watch.
Clashes of class and culture make for uncomfortable travelling comapnions...Peter Farrelly does an incredible juggling act with...the raw emotion, the caustic comedy and, the undiluted hate. Racism is never far away on this journey...and, most of the time, that racism is met with an exasperating diginity. Such powerful scenes done with such stoic politeness...enough to take your breath away.
And then...there's the vulnerability...one scene especially...the gay one! It's a turning point in the film...in quite an unexpected direction!
At its core, Green Book is about the forging of an [absolutely altogether] unlikely friendship...how circumstance, proximity and difference can all align and become something very special indeed...especially when two actors - clearly, at the top of their game - deliver these kind of performances.
When actors, director and writers [also] align...this is what can be produced. It's a prime example of bitter/sweet perfection.
Thank you for sharing this story...with us all.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.
Cast & Characters
Viggo Mortensen as Tony Lip;
Mahershala Ali as Don Shirley;
Linda Cardellini as Dolores;
Don Stark as Jules Podell;
Sebastian Maniscalco as Johnny Venere;
Tom Virtue as Morgan Anderson;
Brian Stepanek as Graham Kindell;
Joe Cortese as Joey Loscudo;
David Kallaway as Ray;
Paul Sloan as Carmine;
P. J. Byrne as Record Producer;
Iqbal Theba as Amit;
Ninja N. Devoe as Orange Bird Bartender;
Jim Klock as Patrolman Stewart;
Daniel Greene as Policeman #1;
Martin Bats Bradford as Bus Boy;
Anthony Mangano as Danny;
Craig DiFrancia as Dominic;
Tracy Brotherton as Copacabana Socialite;
Johnny Williams as Fat Paulie