Green Book (2018)

Director: Peter Farrelly
Writers: Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga and Brian Currie
Composer: Kris Bowers

Notable Cast:
Dr. Donald Shirley- Mahershala Ali
Tony "Lip" Vallelonga- Viggo Mortensen
Dolores Vallelonga- Linda Cardellini
(only because not many of the other characters made an impression on me)

Awards & Nominations:
OSCAR- BEST PICTURE (this is the big one!)
OSCAR- Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali- rightfully deserved)
OSCAR- Best Original Screenplay
nomination- OSCAR- Best Film Editing
nomination- OSCAR- Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen)
Golden Globe- Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali)
Golden Globe- Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
Golden Globe- Best Screenplay
nomination- Golden Globe- Best Actor (comedy/musical)- Viggo Mortensen
nomination- Best Director- Peter Farrelly

Write-up:

This movie FINALLY came to cable and I was able to watch it... it was on during New Year's Eve, so I had to watch it again. The people we had over really got into it and enjoyed it. Just from seeing it the first time, I thought it had a good mix of drama and little comedic touches scattered throughout. 

First off, I'm really happy that this movie won Best Picture. I still don't understand why people were so upset about it. I mean, what were they expecting? Black Panther? BlackKkKlansman? Bohemian Rhapsody? 
There had been talk for years about Oscar nominees and winners not being diverse enough. I don't remember who said it, but someone made a comment a few years ago that there need to be more good roles written for black actors, more good stories, because that's what is going to change things. I thought this movie was a shining example of that. 
(Like Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book has issues with inaccuracies, but a lot of it has truth to it. I haven't seen the Spike Lee movie, but one day, I might just to see what it's all about. Even after seeing it, I don't think I would have been happy with Black Panther winning Best Picture. No Marvel/superhero movie should win that top honor, not even Endgame... they lost their shot with Iron-Man and I still put that on top shelf).

The basic story is that Tony is an Italian New Yorker who has mob connections and works as a bouncer/chauffer. He's asked to be chauffer/assistant to black piano virtuoso, Dr. Donald Shirley, as he embarks on a tour into the deep south in the early 60's.

I have a lot of thoughts coming to me from different places, so I think I'll do bullet points to touch on a few: 

• Reading trivia: the real Tony Lip was an actor on The Sopranos... I'd never seen the show, but dang, that's kinda cool. His son was also one of the screenwriters of the movie
• Viggo Mortensen is unrecognizable... I almost couldn't believe this was Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. I can definitely see why he was nominated... but I'm still glad Rami Malek took home that award. 
• I didn't notice this the first time around, but in the movie, there are interesting little nuances you pick up. Like how Tony's attitude towards blacks changed throughout the movie. There was a scene near the beginning where two black handymen came to the house and Tony throws the glasses they drink into the garbage... which his wife later rescues... that just made me go "whoa..." I know that there was a lot of prejudice back then and that was indicative of that, but it was still shocking... right up there with Dr. Shirley's less than acceptable bathroom options while touring in The South.

Mahershala Ali deserves his own section for a bit. I'd never seen any of his work. I know he's a highly acclaimed actor and he'd won awards before. But seeing him for the first time, I can completely understand why. He has a really awe-inspiring stage presence. Like he changes the air in the room when he appears on screen. He takes his job very seriously and the characters he plays (at least this one- cuz that's all I have for reference) are made better because of him. 

Not all of the piano playing was his, but he pulled it off really well. (The brilliance actually came from the composer, Kris Powers, who was his body double... dang can that guy play? And according to trivia, he only plays Steinway pianos that are handmade).

Moreover, Dr. Shirley is such a gentleman with great poise and dignity. He holds high standards for himself and those around him. That makes you want to rise to the level of your highest self. He has a great way with words too, even in the more dire situations, where he has to explain to Tony the difficulties he has to face.

I wrote this in an earlier post, but the way he explains the shallowness of the white folks who ask him to perform for them. That they only want him because it makes them seem cultured and after he leaves, he's just another black man they could care less about. What a contrast that is... not to mention the last stop of the tour where he threatens not to play if he can't eat in the main dining room... and the guy in charge STILL won't budge?! And he has the nerve to ask Tony to talk sense into him? That ain't right! 

We were on an Alaskan cruise and this movie was on, but that was the only scene I got a chance to see before we had to leave for dinner or something. Oddly enough, it was within the last 20 minutes of the movie, so I didn't have to go.

Also gotta add that I spent a lot of this movie kinda waiting for something really bad to happen... just dreading it because I was really enjoying it and how these two characters were getting on and developing a closer bond... but that moment never came and it ended on Christmas night where Dr. Shirley had a seat at the Vallelonga table for dinner. It's hard not to get a little warm & fuzzy about it.

And when the credits started to roll, I just about applauded. I definitely cheered because it was a great movie I really enjoyed. 

The biggest highlight was probably when Tony was writing letters to his wife and Dr. Shirley teaches him how to write properly. It has comedic moments in it, but it also has those "standing back in awe" type moments. Like he'd become Tony's Cyrano. The man also had such a decorum about himself that he didn't let Tony get away with much, whether it's stealing or littering. There's a scene where he takes a rock from the ground and they argue for 5 minutes about putting it back or paying for it. 

Also Tony getting all crazy about there being a KFC in Kentucky and he actually convinces Dr. Shirley to try some and despite prior hesitation, he gets really into it. 

Some things are just impossible to resist... 

There's also two instances involving cops with different results... makes for an interesting contrast between North and South.

One where a very important political figure gets involved and my jaw dropped to the floor when their identity is revealed. The other, it was an unexpected pleasure how different it was. Kinda interesting too to read that that cop was playing by Brian Currie, one of the screenwriters. 

Also interesting to read is that we see a lot of scenes with Tony's relatives...I'm not sure how many of them, but apparently a bunch of them were actually Villalongas playing themselves.  And I think Viggo Mortensen wasn't told this until after they'd finished shooting.

And the song Dr. Shirley plays at the scene in the end where he wows a crowd at a bar... he said earlier in the film how his record company told him to play pop music because classical might have trouble gaining traction with an audience. But he adds "...but not everyone can play Chopin. Not like I can"... according to the trivia, the Chopin piece he played is rated a 9/9 on Henle Levels of Difficulty scale, meaning it's one of the hardest songs to play on piano. 
:mind equals blown:

On the tour, Dr. Shirley plays with 2 other guys. One scene I gotta add for some self-indulgence: they exchange a few words while driving down the road in two different cars. Tony mistakes it for German and he gets corrected. Even before he is, though, I'm saying to the TV: "dude, that's Russian"... there were subtitles in a number of scenes (note: Dr. Shirley knows a few languages, which makes things interesting). But even with how limited my Russian is now (I learned a lot off the Internet over a 6-month period back in 2015... I've since forgotten most of it), I was able to pick up some of the words. The conversation ends with Dr. Shirley saying "paka" as the guys drive off... there were no subtitles, but I know that means "bye" or "see you later"

I'll just end with one final quote that kinda sums the movie up:

"Being genius is not enough, it takes courage to change people's hearts."