You cannot deny the power of having Mahershala Ali in any movie or television show. In season one of Luke Cage, he was a standout as Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes, in House of Cards he gave a consistent powerful performance as Remy Danton, and he became the first Muslim to win an Oscar for his role as Juan in 2016’s Moonlight. In a recently released trailer, Ali will pair up with Viggo Mortensen, who is best known as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies. In Green Book, Ali and Mortensen will pair up as Mortensen plays a New York nightclub bouncer who is now Ali’s bodyguard as they travel into the deep south. Ali will play a very talented pianist and the two make for an unlikely, but an enjoyable pair.
Set in the 1960s, it’s not a very comfortable climate in the deep south for a person of color, which is why Ali’s character Don Shirley hires “Tony Lip”. The name Green Book refers to the travel guide meant to assist African Americans in pre-civil rights segregation in America.
Although it’s obvious by the trailer that the two don’t get along at first, we can see that the movie will involve the two coming together to form a friendship that back then would not have been welcomed. Don begins to help Tony with his writing, so to better communicate with his wife and Tony begins to see how immensely talented Don is. The film looks endearing, but also that it will tackle the issues that people of color had to deal with back then and it’ll most likely raise a discussion about a lot of what is happening today.
Personally, I’m not used to seeing Mortensen like this, but he really looks like a 60s era Italian New Yorker and I’m really intrigued by the dynamic that will radiate between the two. I think this film looks like a great Sunday matinee to enjoy with you and a friend, where afterward you could have a thought-provoking conversation afterward. Green Book will premiere November 21st of this year.
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