Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Green Book

This is one of the best films I’ve seen all year! It’s well acted, well written, incredibly emotional and an all around masterful film. This film stars Viggo Mortensen & Mahershala Ali At The height of their powers both delivering amazing performances that will dazzle you. 

First off, This film is going to get compared to Driving Miss Daisy due to some similarities but some critics are calling it a rip off of that film and that the film results in being boring I strongly disagree this film uses the same concept of a travel/ road film but really hits home the tone of racism in it ins very strong way that is powerfully and honestly shown. 

This film really hits you hard because it isn’t just another drama film it starts with the main character who’s not fond of African Americans at all and has little redeeming qualities about him. But the film showcases a tremendous character arc that Viggo’s character goes through and really transforms into someone entirely different then who he was at the start by the end of it he sees how African Americans gets treated and it’s not right and I loved how they built that into the film in a well structured manner. It isn’t also just a hard hitting piece about Race in America it is genuinely funny at moments this film is a damn good time to be had watching it has the events of the drama and serious tones sure but it also has its fair share of great moments of laughter too. 

Secondly, this film dose not work unless you buy the chemistry of the two main leads and boy do you ever. The two lead actors Mortensen and Ali work off one another so well creating fantastic dynamic onscreen chemistry that just is electric and their the reason you really invest into the film and the onscreen chemistry is a huge contribution to why this film works. 

Lastly, This film exceeded my expectations by not just giving me a straight forward drama but a complex one with layers of drama, heavy tones about Racism as well as the bond of friendship and love added with its fantastic performances from its leads it has it all Green Book is a true treat to be had and a film that will be talked about for years to come. 

The film is based on a true story about a man named Tony Lip who gets hired to be a driver for a musician who embarks on a tour of the Deep South and as they journey along they grow to understand and like one another and deal with the problems that they face. 

Rated PG - 13 : for thematic content, language including racial epithets, smoking, some violence and suggestive material

Viggo Mortensen : Viggo gives a performance of a lifetime with his work in this film! He’s been a leader in Lord Of The Rings, a Russian monster in Eastern Promises and now he’s given us another film that will add to his collection of great work. Here he plays an Italian family man who’s resides in the Bronx and Viggo’s take on this real life human being was staggering. He dose the person justice but also shows a side to him that we haven’t seen onscreen before. He really gets into the role with the slick back hair the way he walks to the Italian thick accent as well as the tough edge. Viggo really soaks in Tony and all his characteristics and delivers in what I think is his best performance to date! Viggo brings great emotion and fantastic depth to his work in the film. Viggo is so charming and charismatic and really delves head deep into the his performance. He can be so warm and sweet with his family and then be totally tough and driven by violence whoever pisses him off. And then he can be incredibly sarcastic and then be so emotional and not have to even shed a tear but see the hardness on his face to see he could break down at any moment. Viggo really pulls all the stops and showcases his tremendous talent with so much rich emotion. He commits to every moment of the film with amazing delivery of his dialogue. When he speaks he makes the words hit and hit you hard with a great honesty and truth he brings to it that makes it sound so real. You can just tell Viggo is having great fun in this role as he gets to explore so much of the man he’s playing emotionally and it’s great for us the audience as in a result by that we get to see so much of Viggo we haven’t seen before. Their are moments where he is full of anger because they won’t let Don Shirley dine because he’s an African American and the look he’ll give then followed by his great delivery he will bottle up in anger and release it in such a incredible way he’s truly brilliant in the film. He also can be so soft spoken and full of heartbreak and won’t utter a word it’s the sheer look in his eyes that show it all and it’s amazing to watch it really is Viggo dose his best work here giving his all bringing so much to the role and nearly stealing the show with his performance. Overall Viggo delivers a career best performance that will have you crying, smiling and all around entertained by a masterful performance. 

Mahershala Ali : Ali gives a emotionally restrained performance that speaks volumes! Ali plays Don Shirley a brilliant Musician that plays the Piano in a breathtaking way but his talent is taken for granted and looked more by society as a African American then an actual human being which is how they treat him in the film and Ali’s portrayal of the man is charming but also heartbreaking all at once. Ali is very reserved and kept to himself and doesn’t talk unless he feels he needs to or wants too and his approach to the person he plays was fantastic. He shows such vulnerability in the film and is also emotionally captivating. For a lot of the film we see him be quiet and we just see how this man thinks or what he think he’s thinking and Ali plays him in a very proper and classical way but also as a person who dose not easily trust someone and his layered performance is perfect. The way he speaks his dialogue with such richness at times then sheer brutal honesty with a crack in his voice and tear in his eyes Ali tackles the role head on and dose a damn good job. Their are moments where he is upset and won’t say it but is so used getting treated the way he dose he just dose not say anything but rather let’s them treat him badly as he dose not want to start a  fight and we can see so much of how he’s feeling just by his facial expressions and it’s genius work. Ali can be very strict and kept to himself then pour his heart out to Tony because he gets treated like dirt  because of the colour of his skin and it makes you want to cry because Ali delivers it in a way that feels so genuine and honest. He truly is phenomenal in the film giving a fantastic performance that is truly outstanding. 

Peter Farrelly : from the man who gave us Dumb & Dumber and theirs something about Marry to tackle a very serious tone and story for a comedic director I am blown away. A lot of comedic directors have made  great transitions from comedy to drama from Adam McKay who did Anchorman and Then a film like the Big Short. I love when Directors tackle things they haven’t done before and truly try something new that they have yet to do. Here Peter makes shows great strength in the dramatic genre and brings a great contribution to it. He could of explored the entire life span of these two people since it’s a true story but decides to just explore on the portion of how they met and the journey they go on and I loved that. He really gets the audience to invest into these two and he creates fantastic onscreen chemistry with the two actors resulting in deep conversations but also light hearted moments too. That’s another thing that he dose amazingly well is not just bringing this film into one tone but a whole bunch of tones. He doesn’t bagger you over the head with the tones of Racism but makes you take notice of it and how people were treated and really think about it. Then he could make you laugh with really genuinely funny moments but it’s not a comedy either he walks this balance where he juggles all these tones and catches them all and makes it look effortless. He shows tones of race in America the importance of family and love and friendship and really brings it into the film so well. While getting great work from his main leads as well as doing justice to these real people and their story while keeping the audience entertained. Overall Peter comes out of his comfort zone and tackles new territory in a brilliant fashion giving a well rounded film with great direction.