The more distance I get from this film, the less I like it.

First, a framing consideration. The arts are one sphere where there is a pretty objectionable level of bullshit tolerance. To illustrate, and selecting an example that is particularly relevant this awards season, film directors are given considerable leeway for questionable or downright illegal behaviour, behaviour that would often attract censure and sanction elsewhere. Yes, this is incredibly naive, and the world beyond Hollywood is far from an ideal. However, there remains a stubborn association between artistry and abuse … for too long abusive behaviour has been written off as a quirky eccentricity which goes hand-in-hand with talent.

In relation to Green Book, director Peter Farrelly and writer Nick Vallelonga (son of Tony Lip, depicted in the film) have had to make apologies as they slog through the awards circuit. Farrelly has apologised for a previous habit he had of flashing genitals at work, while Vallelonga apologised for tweeting moronic and racist lies about Muslims.

Oh wait… I forgot… Viggo Mortensen has ALSO had to apologise for some of his comments…

(Great… what a dream team, amirite!?)

On that note, let’s get on with reviewing the film. Green Book tells the somewhat true life story of Tony ‘Lip’ Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) and Dr Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), who spent some time together in the 1960s touring the towns and cities of the American Deep South, where Shirley would treat locals to his virtuoso piano playing. The film has been attracting some criticism for its handling of the story, including the claim that this is yet another ‘white saviour’ picture along the lines of The Help and The Blind Side. These criticisms focus on the framing of the narrative from Tony Lip’s perspective – an Italian-American man who accepts the job of Shirley’s driver. Tony Lip is very racist – most of the narrative is his seeming reappraisal of these views (although this isn’t particularly well explored). One early scene in particular contrasts Tony Lip’s views with those of his wife. The film tells us that Tony is racist even for the times. The criticisms of the film in this vein are valid, the story does marginalise the character of Don Shirley.

There are other problems too that have come to light since the film’s release, particularly regarding the views of Don Shirley (who died in 2013) and his family. The family’s concerns with the presentation of facts in the film have even prompted Ali to make an apology to them. The argument of some critics is that the film takes the unquestioned stories told by Tony Lip to his son Nick, and proceeds from there, entirely riding roughshod over the wishes of Shirley’s relatives, to the extent that they were not consulted at all.

In terms of the film itself, it is an enjoyable and unchallenging piece of work. Mortensen eats his way through a succession of calorific meals, offering an entertaining caricature of an Italian-American. Ali is charismatic and a pleasure to watch in a role that is regrettably two-dimensional. Shirley is presented as elite and erudite. We meet him as Tony meets him, and only learn more about him as Tony does. At the end of the film we only know what Tony knows. The character reveals show us elements of Shirley, but these are always framed from Tony’s perspective. However, regardless of these performances, my point is that these really aren’t the point. The central performances shouldn’t detract from the circumstances in which the film was made.

Green Book is non-threatening and folksy. The original events which inspired the film have been questionably re-imagined to create an unremarkable human interest story which leaves much below the surface.

2.8/5

(Yeah, I can totally give this rating if I want)