A Matter-of-Fact Dad Movie Review: Green Book

Green Book may not be pretty, but those piano sequences sure were 

By: Yves Mangulabnan

Green Book is a true story. Apart from the boring introduction, which lasts for five minutes, the film cruises along nicely—like the way Tony and Dr. Shirley drove down to the South.

But, for gripes! When Tony said he never realized how beautiful this country really is, there were only a few clips of scenery. There should have been more of the beautiful scenery during the driving scenes. Granted, there were scenes in the countryside, but they had Tony and Dr. Shirley talking in the car. Less talking, more rolling hills, towns, and pastures. They should have showed more of the places that Tony and Dr. Shirley visited, because I want to see them for myself. They should have added more landscape shots and aerial shots to make viewers like me appreciate this beautiful country. A wasted opportunity.

Some other parts that stood out to me were the piano sequences. I thought the actor played Dr. Shirley really well. I think the actor played the piano himself because the camera shots showed his whole body, including his arms. Later, the front-facing shots showed the actor’s face but not his hands. However, when they do focus on the playing of the piano keys, the shots only focus on his hands, so you don’t see who is playing. So, even if Green Book missed out on the scenery, it honestly sold me on the piano shots.

Illustration by Hannah Hyytinen

In a nutshell, true stories are good stories. Go see Green Book.