Green Book

Green Book (2018) is an American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Farrelly. The movie takes place in the '60s, following the adventures of the afro-american jazz pianist Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali) and his boy-guard, the italo-american Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen). Although Don is a jazz star and is booked all through the US, because of the color of his skin, is life is as hard as his black fellows. The star is convicted to dirty motel rooms, constraint to take alternative road to reach the south as to avoid Ku Kluk Klan,  to use separate rest rooms, to entry black bars only etc. In one word, the generously musician is allowed to be in the presence of the "elevated" and "refined" white people only when is longilinea and delicate hands caress the piano. 

• The contrast between the luxury of the gentlemen houses or the golden architecture of the best American theatre that had hosted Don's concerts and the rough, dusty, durty and unsafely places occupied by black American was something that definitely stroked me whilst the view of this movies. How come that in the most liberal country of the world, racial differences were so deeply eradicated ?
• Besides, of course, the performance delivered by Ali, a remarkable actor of this emotional real-story is Viggo Mortensen. When I first watched the movie in original English  Viggo was perfectly speaking the Sicilian dialect: an all-round performance by the danish-american actor, who gives heart to the handy sicario Tony Vallelonga. For his family's sake, Tony leaves his job as a "security- guard" (scagnozzo, in Italian) in a mafia's night club to follow, not so happily at first, the black musician. In the scenes before Tony decides to sign Don's super generous contract, we know that Tony is racists, as most whites at the time: in an interesting scene were two carpenter were fixing stuff at his own house, Tony's wife (played by Linda Cardellini) offer them something to drink. As a result of his exogenous mentality, Tony throw the two glasses on the bid. The man was really racists or was acting only as a response of a common mentality? Green Book as a whole, is the answer to this question. 
• The friendship between Don and Tony is one of the most beautiful relations  portrayed by the contemporary cinema: two men convicted by a so called advanced society (Tony, as an Italian, was a victim of racism himself), believed in the power of humanity (and I would like to quote Jason Donhue, " I see humans but no humanity"), and together they started a fuse to change the world. 

Positive aspects:

1) The acting was impeccable. Also Linda Cardellini was, yet again, worth watching.
2) I enjoyed the movements of the camera, so attached to Don's blue Cadillac. 
3) The journey in the south was a discovery: of Don's history and feelings (also about his sexuality) and of Tony's good heart. The existence of an on-paper "Green Book" was something interesting to know about. 

4) The direct and egalitarian relationship between Don and Tony. I enjoyed every little quarrel. And Don helping Tony with the letters !
5) Don lived in a fakery world of self-isolated luxury. He practically idolatrate himself, even though, when he was outside his palace, he was only another faceless black. This factor was incredibly well portrayed by the director, who balanced the scenes with parsimony.
6) Tony's Sicilian accent and the Italian micro society. So real and funny. I loved that the openness of the Italian people was portrayed as, during Christmas time, they accepted Don as part of the family. 

Negative aspects (if any):
1) The piano scenes in which Don performs, reminds me of Casablanca. But, in Green Book, "the black guy at the piano" is a human being with feelings, not smiling and acting as a muppet as in the 40s iconic movies. More than a negative aspect, this is, a negative feeling. I felt so sorry for the thousand years of apartheid. 

Ciak Movie review: 5/5. EXCEPTIONAL. 

Micol Sartori