Review: "Green Book" is an Entertaining Ride Towards Empathy

Scene from Green Book

For many people watching director Peter Farrelly's latest Green Book, there's a certain familiarity that comes with the story. Most of us have been in cars, driving long distance with someone who is, to be polite, not seen as pleasant. Yet there is some magic that can be found in those moments, when the hours pass and the comfort set in. It's when the real conversations start as it kills time between the different pit stops. It's also here that the film really succeeds at capturing a chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who make a car ride through 1960's deep south America into something that is an enjoyable exploration of character. Yes, it's another drama about race relations, but it's also about two men learning to open up and empathize. As rudimentary as the racial politics may come across to some seeking more than saccharine simplicity, it does work thanks to the chemistry of its two leads and the feeling that we're stuck on the road with them with one entertaining conversation after another.

Tony (Mortensen) is introduced as a brute force, kicking people out of fancy establishments after they cause a scene. He is a self-proclaimed master of weaseling his way out of situations, and in the process comes across as one of those familiar cocky Italian dudes. If the film has one flaw, it's in portraying him as a charming schmuck who's a bit too candid and equally insensitive. The only thing stronger than his prejudices is his love of work. His father taught him that if you're going to do a job, do it 100%. It's why the choice to drive Don Shirley (Ali) around doesn't seem like a plot contrivance. Yes, this is a story that takes place in the 60's, back before the Civil Rights Act. It's a time when racism was more rampant and cultural understanding wasn't the same. Still, Don's attraction to Tony's brute nature comes in handy as he navigates the deep south. Meanwhile, Tony does it because he needs the money. It's an intrinsic act that kicks the plot into gear, and gets to the heart of the story.

To view the film solely as a racism allegory is to miss the heart of the film. It's a story about two men learning to evolve past their stubborn ways. For Tony, it's developing a sense of empathy for those around him. He must learn to treat his wife (Linda Cardellini) with more respect while also not punching every person who insults him. For Don, it's a story about learning to open up and find compassion. The film's one fault is in giving Tony the stronger focus, as Don's struggle has a multi-tiered appeal thanks to his inability to relate to his own culture as it has shifted from the classical piano that he plays to the rock n roll of Little Richard. He can't even name the last time he played for a black audience, as he's seen more as a novelty act to make white people feel "cultured." It's a familiar story of being excised by the same people who pay him, and Ali captures a profound restraint and frustration in his performance. What starts as initial bubbling moments of mismatched comedy slowly evolves into a beautiful portrait of a man learning to express himself.

If nothing else, Mortensen turns in one of the few performances in a prestige film this year to not have much vanity. At one point he folds a pizza in half and eats it (one of the many moments where food is in his face). He is a man of glutton, and it all plays into his impulsive manners. The small exchanges throughout the road trip give a peek into how the world likely sees Tony. It's in the way that Don quietly criticizes him for smoking in the car, or talking a bit crassly in front of his high profile clientele. By the end of the trip, both men have created a deeper understanding in each other's quirks and find that both are beneficial to the world. Without Tony's brash nature, Don wouldn't have gotten through the tour. Without Don's pacifist view, Tony might have wound up in jail. It's a fascinating dichotomy and what gives this safe film a bit more depth. By posing two polar opposites against each other, the film manages to convey a character drama with plenty of heart, where it's as much about understanding habits as it is race. Yes, Mortensen plays too much into the Italian stereotype at times, but the broad comedy aspects work at balancing out the darker chapters, and if anything help his build into a real character with a deeper understanding of empathy feel earned.

Green Book is a film that is better than its style of film making would suggest. It's built as a feel good drama from a bygone era, created through a nostalgic lens that has earned it comparisons to Driving Miss Daisy. Is it regressive? In the sense of racial commentary, it definitely is. However, the writing beyond this works at creating a character study of two men learning to get along thanks to the pressure to make a long car trip a little more memorable. You're invested in their friendship, especially as culture and lack of culture collide in humorous ways. What the film lacks in originality, it makes up for with two superb performances that fill the film with amusement and thought. Ali is definitely the standout of the two thanks to his evolution as a character, managing to play repressed and insecure while also holding a confidence in arguments. Even the way that Ali plays Don's many music numbers has an appeal to it. While the argument as to how much is true will remain up for debate, the vision succeeds in creating a story of empathy with just enough conflict to make it feel earned.

The story is nothing new, but thankfully Farrelly's entry as the latest comedic director into serious subject matter didn't end in total embarrassment. On one hand it is a contrived movie where black narratives are suppressed by white protagonists On the other, it's an entertaining journey with two actors clearly having fun with the story. It mostly works because there's enough substance in the conversations that these characters share to make it work hitching a ride. It's a film that doesn't set out to change cinema, and instead fills it with a message that is highly desired in these fraught times. How can different people get along, no matter what separates them? This is true just as much of one's appearance as it is their character, and the film does a powerful job of making it all matter.