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Green Book review – a bumpy ride through the deep south

Mahershala Ali plays a jazz musician who confronts the racism of his driver, played by Viggo Mortensen, in a warm but tentative real-life story

Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen are two excellent actors outclassing their material in this amiable feelgood-liberal entertainment, inspired by a true story. Mortensen plays Tony Vallelonga, a 60s nightclub bouncer from New York who got a job as personal driver and minder to African-American jazz musician Don Shirley (Ali) on a tour through the Jim Crow south – armed with the “green book”, which was a guide to hotels and restaurants hospitable to black people.

The movie, in fact, has its own green book, negotiating subjects and areas where it needs to tread carefully. Class and race aren’t the only issues – there is also sexual identity, which the film touches on once and then moves on without the principals ever saying a word about it.

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from Culture | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2Wwd2Yo
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