《绿皮书》：一个温暖的故事

◆Vicky

Green Bookis set in 1962, picking up as working class Italian-American Tony Lip Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) finds himself needing new work after the Copacabana closes for two months due to renovations.As he looks around for a job to support his family, Tony interviews for a driving position with Dr Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali).Don, an African-American classical pianist, is set to tour the Deep South and needs an associate to not only transport him to concert venues, but also act as security if any issues arise.

Even though the job will keep Tony away from his family for eight long weeks, the nice payday encourages him to take it.Promising Dolores he’ll be home for Christmas, Tony hits the road with Don and the other two members of Don’s musical trio, using the Negro Motorist Green Book as a guide to find colored-friendly establishments at the various tour stops.Tony and Don will have to work hard to overcome their personal differences and the injustices they’ll face along the way.But it could be a very rewarding experience for both men, changing their lives for the better in more ways than one.

After its run at the festival circuit,Green Bookdrew several comparisons to Best Picture winnerDriving Miss Daisy, leading some viewers to find it a bit safe and conventional in its storytelling and themes.Tony Lip’s son Nick Vallelonga is one of three credited co-writers, which helps the film find its crucial sense of authenticity.While Nick didn’t accompany his father and Don on the tour, the script no doubt takes inspiration from Tony’s stories about his time in the South.The writing team deserves credit for blending comedy and drama, asGreen Bookis never short on levity, yet still shines a spotlight on the rather serious and frustrating racial prejudices that were so prevalent in the segregation era.A number of clever callbacks and payoffs peppered throughout the script also ensure no scene goes to waste, as the film cruises through its runtime.

For all the strong work by Farrelly and his crew, it’s hard to imagineGreen Bookworking as well as it does without the presence of Mortensen and Ali.The two actors are a perfectly matched pair, playing off each other with great chemistry.Mortensen arguably has the showier role of the two, completely transforming into the larger-than-life figure of Tony Lip.After putting together a string of more serious-minded turns, it’s nice to see the actor loosen up and have some fun as the street-wise bouncer.Ali gives a reserved and soulful performance as Shirley, tapping into the character’s inner turmoil of being a person torn between two worlds.He gives off a fittingly regal but also has convincing dramatic outbursts to make it a well-rounded portrayal.Both leads have rightfully been in discussion for Oscar nominations and definitely deserve them.

With so much of the focus on Tony Lip and Dr Shirley’s dynamic, the supporting cast unfortunately gets lost in the background.Even Cardellini amounts to little more than the housewife missing her loving husband.To be fair, this is most likely a byproduct of the story’s nature, rather than negligence on the part of the creative team.

Green Bookmay not be as artistically daring or ambitious as some of 2018’s other awards contenders, but it definitely lives up to the buzz of Oscars.The movie works on all fronts across the board, and its heartwarming story makes it the perfect film to catch over the Thanksgiving holiday.It could even be seen as the ideal antidote to today’s divisive and trying times, depicting a touching tale of two people from wildly different backgrounds coming together and forging a lifelong bond.Green Bookis worth seeing in theaters.

《绿皮书》里的故事背景是1962年，作为工人阶级的意大利裔美国人托尼·利普·瓦莱隆嘉（维果·莫特森饰）因原先打工的酒吧停业装修两个月而不得不另寻生计。当托尼四处寻找一份工作以养家糊口时，他参加了唐·谢利（马赫沙拉·阿里饰）博士的司机招聘面试。唐是一位非裔美国古典钢琴家，将要去南部地区巡演。他需要一个能够充当司机并且可以应付各种突发状况的保镖。

尽管这份工作会让托尼远离家人长达八周，但丰厚的薪资促使他接受了这份工作。在向妻子德洛丽丝做出一定会回家过圣诞的保证后，托尼和唐以及三重奏的另外两名成员踏上行程。他们根据《黑人司机绿皮书》，在各个经停点寻找对有色人种友好的旅馆。托尼和唐在行程中不得不努力克服他们的个体差异，面临种种不公。但这对两个人来说都是回报丰厚的经历，这段经历促使他们的生活往更好的方向转变。

在电影节巡回演出结束后，《绿皮书》几度被观众拿来与最佳影片《为戴茜小姐开车》作比较。一些观众觉得这部电影在讲述故事和主题方面有点过于平淡和传统。故事原型托尼的儿子尼克·维勒玫嘉是三大合著人之一，这有助于加强影片的真实性。尽管尼克没有陪他父亲和唐去巡演，但剧本无疑是从托尼在南方的经历中得到灵感的。写作团队将喜剧和戏剧结合在一起的创意值得称赞。《绿皮书》在某些细节虽有些轻浮，但仍因聚焦于种族隔离时代盛行的令人沮丧的种族偏见这一主题而抢眼。在整个演出中，巧妙的回调和高潮也确保了场景没有多余的镜头，影片一直在以一种舒服的速度徐徐展开。

对于法拉利和他的团队所做的巨大的付出，很难想象《绿皮书》在没有莫特森和阿里加盟的情况下也能达到同样的效果。这两个演员是完全匹配的一对，合作时会产生神奇的化学反应。可以说，莫特森在这两个角色中扮演着更为显眼的角色，他俨然变成了带有英雄色彩的托尼·利普。在经历了一系列严肃的转变之后，能看到演员放松下来，作为街头保镖享受一些乐趣是件轻松的事情。阿里饰演的谢利，克制而深情，塑造了内心世界被双重身份折磨的人物形象。他散发出一种恰如其分的王者气质，但也有戏剧性爆发，使其人物形象更为丰满。两位主演都被奥斯卡提名，这是理所当然的。

由于太多的注意力集中在托尼和谢利博士的身上，配角们没有得到关注。即使是卡德里尼也只不过是一个想念她深爱的丈夫的家庭主妇。公平地说，这很可能是故事性质的副产品，而不是创意团队的疏忽。

《绿皮书》可能不像2018年其他奖项的竞争者那样大胆或势在必得，但它绝对是名副其实的奥斯卡奖影片。这部电影在各个方面都很成功，温暖人心的故事使它成为感恩节期间的最佳影片。它讲述了两个背景迥异的人聚在一起，建立了一种终身友谊的感人故事。甚至可以被看作是当今分裂和艰难时期的理想解毒剂，《绿皮书》绝对让你值回票价。