Green Book: one of the best films of the decade
The 91st Academy Awards are just a few days away. In the shortlist announced recently, the big favourite "Green Book" has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, and is just one step away from winning the Oscar. Since its release at the Toronto Film Festival last year, the film has been hitting the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Union Awards. The global press has been unanimous in their praise, with The Observer (UK) commenting that "this is one of the best films of the decade" and Us Weekly praising Green Book as "a wonderfully heartwarming and meaningful piece of work".
Green Book is the story of a black pianist who enlists a rough white gangster as his driver for a tour of the racist South. As they drive south, the two men, who are very different from each other, are in constant conflict, causing many arguments and laughs, but come together to tide each other over when they need each other most. The warmth and inspiration in the film's comedic atmosphere, and the clash and spark between the two men, is similar to that of the French film The Untouchables, except that the status and colour of the two men are completely reversed. The Washington Times gushed, "A heartfelt ode to the bond between two real-life men."
Starring as the best friends are Oscar regulars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who bring their "face turn" to this touching story of friendship. In the meantime, the two men physically worked on their "movie star self-cultivation", with Ali training for three months on the piano and Viggo eating all the junk food, gaining 40 pounds and being teased by netizens for turning "Uncle V" into "Uncle U". "The two are highly compatible with each other. The pair's high level of chemistry has thrilled leading Hollywood review site Deadline, who said: "This pairing is one of the best in recent years! This is perhaps Viggo's best role to date, and so is Ali." And Rolling Stone says audiences will be cheering for this dream pairing.
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