Blu-ray review: Green Book

Green Book was one of the most contentious films of 2018, even before it won Bon Picture at the recent Academy Awards last month. There were issues about the film’s handling of the complicated racial dynamic between its two main characters, and about just how true-to-life the film was in its depiction of the life of jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his bouncer-turned-chauffeur Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen). There are some valid criticism of the often simplistic way in which Green Book handles racism, but at its heart the film has an overall positive message — exposure to people different from us breaks down barriers and leads to compassion and understanding, a message that’s still sadly relevant decades after the film’s setting.

Green Book tackles racism in the 1960’s in a rather straight-forward way — Don Shirley is looking to embark on a tour of the Jim Crow south in 1962, and requires a driver (and potentially some muscle) to help him along for his tour dates through the segregated Southern United States. He enlists Tony Vallelonga, a blue-collar bouncer, for his tour, a job Vallelonga takes on despite his racist beliefs. So begins a fairly predictable road trip, where the unlikely duo learn about each other against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.

This is where the film gets a little dicey, implying that Shirley has as much to learn from his racist driver as Vallelonga does from him. This sort of notion that there are “very fine people on both sides” if only we get to know each other is pretty problematic, but the film, directed by Peter Farrelly, never shies away from Vallelonga’s vile beliefs, or apologies for them. It simply shows that two very different people, thrust together in unusual circumstances, can each enlighten each other’s lives if given the opportunity. It may not be the sort of nuanced messaging that we expect these days, but Green Book still capably manages the difficult task of bringing this unusual relationship to the screen.

In many ways the politics and relationships here seem like they’re from another era, but Green Book is not without its charms. The performances from Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen are top-notch, and watching them banter throughout their long car drives is easily the highlight of the film. Green Book is at its best when it just lets these two great actors play off each other, before it gets too deep in the weeds with its murky racial dynamics.

Green Book comes to 4K Blu-ray with a great audio and visual presentation, with the soundtrack especially crackling during the film’s lively concert scenes. The handful of included supplements include some behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast & crew, along with a featurette on the actual Green Book from which the film gets its title.

Despite its problems, Green Book is an eminently watchable movie, with some moving performances from its leads. It may not be the rallying cry of a movie that some people hoped for in these increasingly desperate times, but this is still a very entertaining look at an odd couple that eventually manage to inspire each other to be better people.

Green Book is available on Blu-ray on March 12. You can pre-order it now. Head to our Facebook page to enter to win one of 3 copies of the film (Quebec residents only).