An emotional, bumpy drive through America’s dark heart.

I mean, who doesn’t love a good road trip? Just you, the road, a few tunes, and a mate or two along for the ride if you’re lucky. Whether the journey is from New York to the Deep South or London to the South Coast, there are always lessons to be learnt and stories to be told along the way. Or maybe that’s just the old romantic in me talking.

Perhaps the greatest thing about road trips is just how perfectly suited they are to cinema. From as early as 1934’s It Happened One Night, the simple but expansive structure of the road trip has been the backdrop for many a cinematic tale of dreamers, schemers, and soul searchers. Whether those involved are chasing something or that something is chasing them, the road is the perfect context for whatever issues you want to take along for the ride.

With roots in a very American form of storytelling, the road movie is a simple yet expansive genre that, when set as a backdrop for difficult, complex subjects like racism, can evolve to become something far greater than the sum of its parts. They’re the ideal blank canvas for musings both personal and political, and for the unique, long forgotten story of musician Don Shirley and his driver/bodyguard Frank Vallelonga, the format offers a multitude of opportunities.

Yet, as well versed as he is in road trip lore, is gross-out veteran Peter Farrelly really the filmmaker to do this layered, fascinating tale of race, identity, and segregation the justice it deserves?

About to embark on a concert tour of the ultra-conservative Deep South, world-class African American pianist Dr Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) hires straight-talking Copacabana bouncer Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) as a driver and protection for the long and potentially hazardous journey ahead. Though the two men are from vastly different worlds, their confrontations with the relentless racism of an area still blighted by segregation, create an unexpected bond as they aim not only to survive the tour but do so and return home in time for Christmas.

The story behind Green Book and, in particular, Don Shirley is one layered with fascination and horror. It’s a tale wrapped up as much in racism as it is in one man’s personal struggles with identity and external expectations. It’s one in which race and music clash head on, bringing the bitter history of America’s relationship with prejudice and bigotry into sharp focus through a man whose precocious talent has somehow fallen through the cracks of time. 

It’s a fascinating slice of forgotten history that feels far more relevant to America’s current socio-political climate than it really should and one that Green Book does exceptionally well to mould into an easily consumable piece of crowd-pleasing, feel-good cinema. What the film doesn’t do, however, is go any further than that.

Unconcerned with the nitty-gritty of the situation and clearly unwilling to fully engage with the issues it raises, the film opts for the easy route at almost every turn and, while that works well to a certain point, it’s hard not to leave feeling something went missing along the way.

Peter Farrelly does a stand-up job of ticking pretty much every Oscar-worthy box going as lessons are learnt, boundary-defying friendships are made, poignant monologues are delivered, and much moralising is done. Yet, if you’re looking for a film to delve deep into the murky waters of segregation and race, you might want to jog on. 

Considering the director, writers, and producers are all white, it’s perhaps unsurprising that, despite Green Book’s overt themes, the film has a rather tone-deaf approach to racism. It’s clearly coming from a good place and does a lot of admirable work in giving Shirley’s story the exposure it deserves, yet it often approaches the subject from completely the wrong angle.

By far the film’s biggest narrative choice is to relay the story from the point-of-view of Tony Lip, which is fine in and of itself, yet naturally gives Green Book the air more of an outsider looking in at the atrocities of segregation than a first-hand account. For all its successes, Green Book is very much a white man’s view of racism, one that can observe and sympathise but never truly comprehend.

Falling a little too easily into the ‘white saviour’ cliché that has haunted Hollywood for decades, Green Book holds more than a passing resemblance to Driving Miss Daisy in its approach to race. Kind-hearted, well meaning, and emotionally rousing, yet problematic when you dig under the surface, perhaps the film’s biggest flaw is that it approaches things a little too naively for its own good at times.

Despite this, Peter Farrelly does a great job in his first venture outside the comedy world in which he and his brother have resided for over two decades. As is to be expected, these first forays outside his comfort zone are done with a distinct safety-first approach and while some may feel that taking the easy road for such a complex story is the wrong approach, the simplicity is actually what allows Green Book to hit the right chord in spite of all its problems.

The plot is predictable at every turn, yet there’s a simple rhythm to it that’s impossible to ignore as it plays to the crowd to great effect. For the story Green Book is attempting to convey, the road trip narrative does the job perfectly as the unchallenging, linear structure operates well as a sprawling canvas for the film’s simmering drama.

Peter Farrelly is of course well versed in the road trip, having included one in everything from Dumb and Dumber to There’s Something About Mary, yet the road travelled by Doc Shirley and Tony Lip is something else entirely. The story Green Book tells is a simple one of acceptance across boundaries and the road format complements this perfectly as the odd couple relationship between the two protagonists slowly but surely blossoms, helped along by their confined circumstance and the rapidly shifting environment that speeds by around them.

On its own, the film’s simplistic, problematic approach would likely fall on deaf ears, however, what lifts Green Book well above its glaring issues is the sheer strength of its lead performances.

In the showier role, Mortensen shines as he takes to Lip’s broad, bawdy nature with an infectious vigour that’s always a delight, even in the character’s uglier moments. Whether it’s Tony’s sweet interactions with his wife Dolores (played by the ever-wonderful Linda Cardellini) or his bolshie banter with Shirley, there’s a charming, childlike energy to Mortensen’s performance that’s never less that charming throughout, often allowing the film some much needed breathing space away from its glaring faults.

But, while Mortensen excels as the uncouth shmuck, it’s Mahershala Ali that steals the show. In typically calm and collected style, Ali is a simmering pot of conflictions as he imparts Doc Shirley with a refined manner that barely conceals the pain and confusion just below the surface. It’s a turn of showmanship and introversion that plays both sides of Shirley’s character to perfection.

His role may be unfairly reduced at times, yet, as with Moonlight, he strives to make every second count in a subtle whirlwind of complexity and piano keys that allows Doc Shirley to transcend the limits of the material to become a character of warmth, confusion, and tortured genius. If there were any lingering doubts about Ali’s qualifications as one of the finest actors working today, it’s about time to show them the road.

It also helps that Mortensen and himself have such strong on-screen chemistry together. Any film that involves a central mismatched pairing like this will always sink or swim on the strength of its stars and Green Book certainly lucks out in that respect as its protagonists click almost instantly, bouncing off one another with a natural cadence that pulls you in with its warmth and allows the film to triumph despite its problems. 

As a first attempt to break free of the gross-out world that’s been his home or so long, Green Book is a more than admirable solo debut for Peter Farrelly. Issues with its approach to race and its odd persistence with the clichéd ‘white saviour’ trope notwithstanding, Green Book is a simple yet superbly executed attempt to engage - even on a surface level - with the issue of racial divide within American society that, despite the film’s 60s setting, is as shockingly relevant today as it was half a century ago. 

Bolstered by incredible, engaging performances from two of the finest actors in the game, Green Book is able to use the simplicity of its road trip plot to tell an emotionally engaging tale of a genius-level talent who flew in the face of prejudice, yet whose work and indelible mark on the music industry have sadly become lost in the mists of time. The film’s questionable approach may not hit all the right keys, however, it’s hard to deny that, despite its naiveté, Green Book’s heart is firmly in the right place for a crowd-pleasing, easily accessible ride that encourages us to embrace our differences. Now more than ever, this should be something to truly embrace.