I’ve been truly disappointed in the Oscars over the past few
years. It seems that movies winning the biggest prizes have always disappointed
me, not being movies that I thought were worthwhile but instead movies that
were politically correct. This took away the luster that the Oscars had
possessed for decades of being movies that were the cream of the crop, the best
movies made in any given year. So imagine my surprise to find that this year
they chose the right movie when choosing GREEN BOOK as best picture.
The story, based on real life, follows Frank “Tony the Lip”
Vallenlonga (Vigo Mortenson) a Brooklyn man striving to make a living to
support his family in 1962. Currently Frank works as a bouncer at the
Copacabana but the club is shutting down for a few weeks and he’s in need of
work. A friend tells him he heard about a potential job driving a doctor around
for a few weeks. With nothing to lose he gets the address and goes to check out
the job.
But the doctor is no physician. Instead he is Dr. Don
Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a doctor of music and acclaimed classical piano
maestro. What he is looking for is someone to drive him on an 8 week concert
tour of the Midwest and deep South, someone who can handle himself if the need
arises while on tour. At first unsure if they are compatible or not with Frank
being basically an uneducated thug and Shirley being a cultured musician, they
agree to terms and Frank is on board. Before taking off the record company
provides him half of his fee as well as the Green Book, a book listing hotels
and places to eat that will accept blacks.
The trip doesn’t begin well with Shirley finding Frank to be
uncouth and intolerable to his refined ways. For Frank it’s just a job and he’s
willing to put up with the attitude he gets from Shirley along the way. With
each passing mile we learn more about each man though. In Frank’s case while
his background has led him to think less of blacks he still has an appreciation
for many of them. This is shown as they drive and he plays popular music by
Chubby Checker and Little Richard which Shirley seems to not know or perhaps
not care for.
The stops along the way aren’t bad at first but there is
still a different treatment to be found for Shirley than there is for the other
two white members of his trio and Frank. Frank is stunned at one hotel which
the Green Book lists as a wonderful place but turns out to be closer to a low
level motel. But it isn’t just the places that display the prejudice found in
the locations but the prejudice that both men possess as well.
Thrilled when they are in Kentucky to find a Kentucky Fried
Chicken joint Frank stops and buys a bucket but Shirley refuses to eat saying
eating with his hands just isn’t right. Frank threatens to toss a piece in the
back seat with him and eventually Shirley takes a piece and begins eating. He’s
had no experience with fried chicken which Frank can’t believe because “his
people” all love fried chicken and collard greens. Shirley takes offense to
this and after a short argument Frank realizes maybe he doesn’t know what being
black is all about after all. But Shirley has his own set of prejudices as
well. His snobbish ways get to Frank and the two go back and forth as they’re
on the road. And as the trip progresses they both come to learn about one
another.
When the pair begin to move through the South is when bigger
issues come to play. As they have traveled Frank has come to appreciate the
skill and genius that Shirley displays while performing. He also begins to
notice that the people that Shirley performs for might appreciate his skill but
not the man. He is refused restrooms, dressing rooms and eventually even a meal
in the main restaurant. Where Frank can’t understand why he would be treated
this way, Shirley knows where it stems from. But can these two men get past all
of that?
The movie works on so many levels and never becomes dull. I
test a movie on my remote: do I want to fast forward or not? I never felt the
need to hold the remote the entire picture. The script is amazing (and an Oscar
winner too), the direction is perfect and the acting by both men in the leads
is amazing to watch (Ali also won an Oscar for supporting actor).
Perhaps best of all is that we have a movie discussing the
history of race relations in this country as they were in the sixties but we
don’t have that excess amount of violence or required Klan rally to sit
through. While these things occurred the story isn’t about those things but
about how two men can conquer the so called norms of the time and become
friends. It shows that such things are indeed possible. That’s a story that
needs to be told in today’s world.
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