Green Book: A hearty mix of drama and buddy comedy
An unequaled duo in a situation as tricky as possible - that's the simple recipe for a tasty buddy comedy. "Green Book" (January 31st in the cinema) by director Peter Farrelly (62, "King Pin") adds ingredients such as social criticism, drama and two outstanding performers to this base and tastes it all with a decent, but not over-abundant Pinch kitsch off. Et voilà, an Oscar candidate!
A guide through racism
The Italian-American Tony Vallelonga aka Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen, 60) comes from a poor family and lives his entire life in the Bronx. His penchant for having his fists speak quickly has cost him many jobs - much to the chagrin of his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini, 43) - but he has a particularly lucrative one for that: The African-American musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali , 44) is planning a trip through the southern United States. In 1962 not a safe venture.
Half as a chauffeur, half as a bodyguard, Shirley therefore engages the illiterate occasional rogue, who himself has his dear problems with racial prejudice. But at the beginning of the journey, the unequal characters separate even deeper suspicions of each other and learn to appreciate each other more and more during their trip. Because of all the increasingly violent racism that hits them, welds them closer together.
Friendship knows no education
The one a highly educated music genius, the other a life-artist with a stomach as big as his educational gaps, proudly praising himself as a "shit talker". In such a narrow cinematic space as a car, when such diverse human strikes and cultures meet, it inevitably offers interesting situations and dialogues. Without any ifs and buts, it is these interactions between Ali and Mortensen that have earned the strip a total of five Oscar nominations.
But one thing first: The film romanticized the unusual friendship of Don Shirley and Tony Lip quite appropriate, which is not least because his son Nick Vallelonga participated in the script. The family of Shirley, however, is not at all green with "Green Book", accuses the makers of lack of accuracy before.
Here is the eternal puzzle: How much artistic freedom is one as a viewer willing to look after the filmmakers? As with Oscar rival "Bohemian Rhapsody", everyone has to decide for themselves. While the indulgence of "Green Book" is likely to fall easier, it will eventually tell a much less known story.
Who is the main actor and who is the supporting actor?
The title of the film refers to the so-called "Negro Motorist Green Book" of the time. The travel guide listed all the hotels, restaurants and petrol stations where you were served or hosted as African-Americans. Here maybe the movie tells its strongest message:
The well-heeled Don Shirley would not have had to do this gauntlet through the South. He deliberately took the risk and the torment to rethink. "Green Book" is above all his story, told from the perspective of the one hand, on the other hand, hearty, but also uncouth companion Tony Lip. The character who throws two glasses into the trash at the beginning of the film, because black craftsmen drank from it.
How fast the change from the money-hungry racist to the faithful friend for life takes place is sometimes unbelievable and a bit cheesy. One outstanding thing, however, succeeds "Green Book" but still: At every second of the film (and if you do not know the true outcome of the story) you get caught at the thought: "Hopefully, neither of the two happens!"
Through this perspective, the outstanding playing Mortensen takes more space in the film. That Ali was "only" nominated as a supporting actor, while the former as a leading actor hopes to make an Oscar, but then surprised. Ali's disparity, whether being discriminated against because of his skin color, as well as his educational background and feeling so completely alone, deserves the highest recognition. As well as the dignity with which he bears even the most infamous insults.
Conclusion:
Of course, the true story of Don Shirley's and Tony Vallelonga's journey through the South has also received the Hollywood-style revision. But that does not scratch the monument of the real musician, on the contrary. Sometimes it's better to tell a story romantically - than not at all.
