Green Book (2018) [Movie Review]


Dir: Peter Farrelly
Starring: Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen
Dur: 2 hrs 17 mins
Genre: Comedy-drama
Rating: 8/10

 It’s not often you get to see a great story of two people coming from different worlds connect with one another in a way that is both, enriching and uplifting. Green Book offers us a story just like that. Based on true incidents, the film attempts to portray the curious and dramatic relationship between a bouncer, Frank Vallelonga and virtuoso pianist, Don Shirley. The former is an Italian-American with tough skin, while the latter is a black musician in need of a driver-cum-valet for one of his musical tours. If this isn’t enough to tickle your curiosity then this surely will: the film is set in 1960 America which is at the height of racial discrimination.

The film is a beautiful blend of classical music, inter-racial relationships, ‘culture’ and above all friendship. If there is one thing about the film that stands out is the unique friendship that Frank and Shirley develop. The film develops quite well and makes every effort to touch at heartstrings even while offering the occasional laugh. Despite its rather slow story build-up the film is still immensely gripping. One is captured by the range of emotional currents that run riot as the notes to musical classics strike pure. The whole racial discrimination issue is portrayed quite accurately and one is continually reminded that no matter how ‘cultured’ one is, one is always ‘coloured’ by race and other similar tags!

The film is, in my reckoning, a Christmas film. I don’t think it’s by chance that the film ends with a Christmas scene. It brilliantly brings forth the spirit of Christmas as it ought to be lived in ordinary life. Love, friendship, acceptance, non-violence, forgiveness and turning the other cheek are all deeply Christian characteristics and behaviours that feature prominently in film. I would recommend watching this film around Christmas time but since Christmas is only a month old and is not going to return for another 11 months, by which time you would have forgotten all about this gem of a film, I recommend to you watch it as soon as you can. You won’t regret it.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC-_Gon2p9M

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