The 91st Academy Awards which were presented last Sunday has stirred the usual heated debates over ‘who won and who should have won’ in the respective categories, the most heated of which has centred on the winner in the Best Film category, The Green Book.
There were eight nominations for the Oscar in the Best Film category in which there was no clear cut favourite. So close was the race in fact that each of the eight films won at least one award in another category.
The Green Book recounts a tour through the Jim Crow South of the United States of America in the early 1960s taken by Dr Don Shirley, an African American concert pianist and composer. Shirley who was accompanied by two white musicians hoped to change the perception of the minds of the Southern folk with his musical performances. Shirley who could have earned more money performing on the concert circuit in the north opted on his own accord to do the tour.
Shirley, who resides in a luxurious apartment above the Carnegie Music Hall hires ‘Tony the Lip’ Vallelonga to be his driver and bodyguard for the trip. They are from two vastly different worlds, poles apart. Tony, from the Bronx, is a white Italian-American bouncer at the Copaca-bana Night Club in New York City. In the film, Tony is presented as a racist who a bit rough around the edges, but quite capable of dealing with the rough and tumble world of the night life of the streets of the Big Apple.
At the commencement of the tour Tony is given a copy of The Green Book. The Green Book, which was created by Victor Green, an African American, was a travel guide for African Americans, published during the time of racial segregation in the United States, which provided listings of hotels, motels, restaurants and gas stations.
As the trip evolves, the two men learn about each other and a mutual respect begins to develop. As Tony gets the concert pianist out of a few difficult situations, Shirley, works on refining Tony, even assisting him with the letters he writes home to his wife.
The film which is based on an account written by Tony’s son, Nick, has been dismissed by Shirley’s family as a pack of lies. Shirley’s relatives claim that the two never enjoyed a lifelong friendship as the notes at the end of the film suggest.
In some quarters it has been mooted that the film is just another Hollywood attempt at presenting a white saviour take on bigotry during the time of Jim Crow. It is accused of utilizing “a magical black figure” to facilitate change in a white person. Others have expressed the opinion that the voters compromised on giving the award to the highly successful box office blockbuster Black Panther or the Spike Lee directed movie BlacKkKlansman by giving the nod to The Green Book.
The Green Book is a detail-oriented period piece which captures an epoch of time which people would rather forget than talk about today. The film should be seen for what it is, a work of art which is well presented. Mahershala Ali, who is brilliant in the role of Dr Shirley took home the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Viggo Mortensen, who is dynamic as Tony, was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film won a third Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and received another nomination in the Film Editing category.
These debates which generate arguments and viewpoints from all angles will always be par for the course whenever there is a subjective element involved and everyone will have (which they are entitled to) their own opinion at the end of the day.
When it comes to the Oscars one just never knows what is going to happen. Film buffs are still reeling over the perceived snub Denzel Washington received in 2000 for his performance as the incarcerated boxer Rubin Carter in the film Hurricane. The great actor Paul Newman received eight nominations for Best Actor but only walked away with one golden statuette.
Oscar or no Oscar, the films will always be there for everyone to view and interpret.
