Green Book

Based on a true story, Green Book stars Mahershala Ali, who plays Dr. Don Shirley, a classical pianist who holds numerous degrees in music and dramaturgy. Also starring in the movie is Viggo Mortenson, playing Frank Villelonga, also known as “Tony the Lip”, who worked at the Copacabana nightclub as a bouncer.

Image source:

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/viggo-mortensen-mahershala-ali-green-book-1202857862/

The movie takes place in the early 1960s. It begins at the Copa nightclub, which closes for renovations, leaving Frank Villelonga without a job. He gets a call for an interview to be a driver for Dr. Shirely.

When Villelonga goes to the interview, he is led into a room that resembles a museum, with art pieces throughout the room. Opposite him is a raised platform, about 6 inches higher than the rest of the room, which has a throne on it. When Dr. Shirley enters the room, he’s dressed in a flowing ceremonial robe. He steps up onto the raised platform and sits in the throne. The camera shows the two men opposite each other, with Dr. Shirley sitting markedly higher than Mr. Villelonga.

In in the interview, Don Shirley explains that he has is a musician that has his own trio of musicians-“The Don Shirley Trio”, and that the trio is about to embark on an eight week tour throughout the Deep South. As Dr. Shirley is a black man, his safety will be at risk while traveling on this tour. Frank has his interview, and gets the job.

At the start of the movie, Frank Villelonga and Don Shirley are as polar opposite as two people can get. Don is divorced, Frank is happily married with children. Don is cultured, and Frank is anything but. Don listens to classical music and jazz, while Frank listens to the radio. Throughout the tour, Frank learns about jazz through watching Don perform every night. Don coaches Frank on how to write letters to his wife. Frank teaches Don about Little Richard, Chubby Checker, and other popular musicians of the day. At the beginning of the film, the two men are friendly to one another, but not openly warm or friendly to one another. By the end of the film, the two men have evolved into friends.

The name of the film comes from the Green Book, a travel guide for black Americans in the Jim Crow years. Akin to a AAA roadside guide, it lists hotels, restaurants, roadside attractions where they will be safe. I personally learned about the green book while at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. There was an exhibit about the Green Book, in an interactive table display:

“Green Book” won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture this year. The other films nominated for Best Picture include:

-A Star is Born

-Black Klansman

-Black Panther

-Bohemian Rhapsody

-The Favorite

-Vice

-Roma

I have seen not yet seen “Vice”, “a Star is Born” and “The Favorite.” Having seen the other 5 films, I feel I can now give an opinion on the matter.

While I liked “Green Book”, I do not know why it won Best Picture. If I were in the Academy,

 I would have voted for “Black Klansman” to win in this category. Hands down, it was the best movie of 2018. “Black Panther” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” were better films than “Green Book.”

Many criticized “Green Book” when it won Best Picture, for a question of accuracy as well as its artistic interpretation. This article discusses the myriad of controversies contained in this film:

http://time.com/5527806/green-book-movie-controversy/

Mahershala Ali won the Oscar for “Green Book” in the Best Supporting Actor category. To me, that was an unfortunate placement. As I watched the film, I saw the main character of the movie as Dr. Shirley, not his driver Frank Villelonga. As the screenplay was written by Villelonga’s son, the story is only told from Villelonga’s point of view. I sat watching “Green Book” and wished that someone would remake this film, told from Dr.Shirley’s point of view.

“Green Book”, now on Blu Ray, DVD, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play, Amazon Prime. 3 stars.