Why Green Book should win Best Picture at the 2019 Oscars

With the ninety-first Academy Awards zooming ever closer into vision – albeit still with no host – we’ve asked some of #FilmTwitter‘s top bloggers to explain why their favourite Best Picture nominee should come out on top.

Our run through continues today with Dan and Nancy’s takes on Green Book. You can follow Dan and Nancy on Twitter @DN_NowPlaying but not before you check out what they have to say here!

In Green Book, Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) is a classically trained pianist who hires a local club bouncer, Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), to chauffer him on a tour through the Deep South. Set in the 1960s, not long after the attack of Nat King Cole on stage in Alabama, the film follows the unlikely pair – Ali is black while Tony is white – as they tour and encounter increasing racial tension and personal matters the farther south they go. The adversity helps them each grow personally and together. Time tickling the ivories and growing as humans: 130 minutes.

Nancy’s Take

The nominations for Best Picture this year were tough for me to narrow down to just one. I liked most of them but the one that stands out the most is Green Book! I loved this movie! It seemed to touch every emotion! I laughed and I cried but, most importantly, I left the theatre with a smile on my face! Green Book delved into race, homosexuality, gave me a history lesson and most importantly showed how friendships are created when barriers are removed.

Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali were a great pair. I believe they were the biggest reason why I loved this movie so much. They are complete opposites and each perceive each other in a certain way in the beginning but slowly find out that maybe their assumptions were wrong. One of my favorite scenes was when Tony introduces fried chicken to Dr. Shirley for the first time! As funny as it was, it also depicted typical stereotypes people have on others. Most of the dialogue was very impactful as well. The part that stood out the most for me was when Dr. Shirley says, ‘So if I’m not black enough and if I’m not white enough, then tell me, Tony, what am I?’

Was Green Book worth the price of admission? Yes. Would I see it again? Yes!! Grab your friends and some popcorn and enjoy a heartfelt movie and hopefully this will win some Oscars as well!

Dan’s Take

Hard to believe it is time for the Oscar yet again. There were many great movies out there this year but my pick to win Best Picture is Green Book – and it could have been even better.

Green Book was a good story about two men – one black, smart and cultured and one white, street-smart and unrefined – working together to overcome racial prejudice while touring in the 1960s south. Ali and Mortensen deliver standout performances and deserve their nominations for genuine depictions of emotion, vulnerability and growth but I thought the story needed more balance. I wanted more about how Dr. Shirley came to live like a king atop Carnegie Hall and less on how much Tony’s family loved baseball.

Background on the actual green book was lacking too. On my family trips across the country, we simply needed the latest Rand McNally and a Choice Hotel book to show us the way. I had no idea there was essentially a black AAA book. Further, while perhaps it was supposed to be subtle, when Doc and Tony stayed at different hotels due to racial restrictions, Tony’s hotel always seemed nicer than Doc’s green book hotel. These differences were not highlighted other than Dr. Shirley trying to get away from his. I took this to be because he felt he did not fit in with the crowd. Doc was accustomed to his palatial home and must have been uncomfortable in a tiny little run-down room.

Green Book was a very good movie that could have been great. Overall, I think it is good enough to win it all this year. Was Green Book worth the price of admission? Yes. It was an eye-opening movie with dark topics sprinkled with humor and music. Would I see it again? No. I want the prequel.