Review of Green Book (2018) by Movieseeer — 02 Feb 2019

Not your mother’s Driving Mrs. Daisy in Green Book, perhaps the worst title and opening of a fine movie in sometime. Fact is seeing the previews of the film reminded of the American Yin and Yang of black on white a particularly touchy subject among many Americans today.

At any rate the film is very lively and surprised me quite a lot. Mahershal Ali plays Don Shirley a gay black man who was an impresario of the piano, and the film does have a very fine vibe when the man gets up to play. There is the usual white flight to these times as Shirley and driver, Tony, marvelously acted by Vitto Mortensen uses his more brutish instincts to protect and help Mr. Shirley through the very white south of America.

There is a fine chemistry between the two actors and men, Shirley played by Ali is debonair with a capital D, his life as a black man is examined interestingly enough, as some black field hands watch as Tony helps the shimmering Don Shirley into the expensive car.