The race for the five Best Actor nominations might be the Academy Awards’ toughest race. Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) is a lock. There has been some significant buzz for movies that have run in limited release only (Ethan Hawke – First Reformed) and Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate). Ryan Gosling had a considerable push heading into First Man, but the movie was a miss with critics and audiences. His outstanding performance could be a casualty in this tight year. A new crop of contenders could swoop in for a spot or two (Rami Malek –Bohemian Rhapsody), John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased). And then there are a couple of oldtimers who turned in a couple of possible final career performances (Clint Eastwood – The Mule) and Robert Redford (The Old Man & the Gun). But I will state, for the record, that one of the men listed above, not named Bradley Cooper, will be knocked out for the career-defining role of Viggo Mortensen (Appaloosa, A History of Violence) in Green Book.

We can talk about Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Hidden Figures) all we want (and we will). But Green Book is a Mortensen-driven vehicle and a movie that is an absolute must-see. I am a huge Mortensen fan. The Road is one of my all-time favorite movies, and his performance in 2007’s Eastern Promises deserved an Oscar nomination. But I was not a massive fan of 2016’s Captain Fantastic (a film I enjoyed to an extent but had no desire to review). The Oscar nomination should have gone to Jake Gyllenhaal (Nocturnal Animals). If, based on the preview, you are worried about Green Book being Driving Miss Daisy 2, rest assured that it is not. That, honestly, was my most considerable trepidation. And don’t let the PG-13 rating fool you either into thinking this will be something light-hearted and fun. It pushed the envelope with its language and tone at times. I’m not saying this is as dark as the Tom Cruise/ Jamie Foxx 2004 movie Collateral, but that wasn’t its design either. While that movie, too, was driven by the performances of its two leads, it didn’t have as much to say as Green Book did. And I’m also not going to suggest that this movie doesn’t play out exactly as you might expect it to because it does.

The movie begins in 1962 in New York. “Inspired by a true story” scrolls the screen. This movie was accurate after fact-checking on the History vs. Hollywood website. I’ve stated numerous times on my blog that a good story becomes great or a great story becomes excellent when you learn that the “true story” claim is just that. A great story gets knocked down a peg when, afterward, you learn of all of the liberties the director took to make the movie more appealing. I’ve had movies that would be in the top half of my Top 10 of each year that I drop altogether because the parts that I thought to be true were largely fictionalized. I don’t particularly appreciate feeling like a fool. At times, it is maddening. But that is not the case here. As a result, the great Green Book elevates itself from good to great.

In any case, Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen) is a doorman, peacekeeper, and enforcer at New York City’s famed  Copacabana nightclub. He was nicknamed “Tony Lip” because of his uncanny ability to bullshit and talk himself out of every situation imaginable since he was a kid. The only thing more impressive than his mouth might have been his brute strength. While physically strong, he also had an incredible appetite that added muscle to his body and gut. Seeing the usual incredibly fit Mortensen with a bulge protruding from his sleeveless, ribless undershirts was a little strange that we saw more than once during this film. Tony needs some work with the Copacabana, which has been shut down for renovations for a few months. He’s an Italian family man, very much in love with his wife Dolores (Linda Cardellini – Daddy’s Home, Welcome to Me) and their kids. We also learn that Tony is a little bit of a racist (if not a full-blown one). We witnessed him throw two of the family’s drinking glasses into the trashcan after seeing them drinking a beverage Dolores had provided them after doing some work around the house.

Tony learns that there is a man in need of a driver for a few months. It turns out that the man who needs this is a world-famous refined pianist named “Dr.” Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali – Moonlight, Free State of Jones), who is about to go on a two-month tour that will take him and the other two men (a bassist and a cellist) in his trio throughout the Midwest and the southeastern portions of the United States. Tony comes highly recommended as a man who cannot only drive but help provide some protection in some, certain to get hairy, situations in the deep south that, in 1962, don’t all take too kindly to a successful black man. Dr. Shirley knew that Tony was his man even before Tony did. It just takes a little convincing and the approval of Tony’s wife to take her husband away from her for such a long stretch.

As mentioned, from here, it is relatively formulaic. Tony and Dr. Shirley get to know each other through extensive time together in the car. Tony is given The Green Book before the start of their voyage. The Green Book is The Negro Motorist Green Book. It was a segregation-era guidebook for African-American motorists that alerted them to which restaurants, hotels, etc., offered service to blacks. Travelers would also encounter “sundown towns,” which prohibited blacks from being outside after nightfall. These books were available at places like gas stations, and 15,000 copies were sold a year, with the first one coming to print in 1936 and then continuing to be published annually for the next 30 years.

I had never heard of The Green Book. Learning that it was a real thing made me feel nauseous. The distinction between the perceived “privileged” and “underprivileged” in our society, particularly in this country, is and will continue to be something that I don’t understand. All we can do is fight for fair rights for all in the time of history that we exist in. We still have major racial, gender, and sexual orientation issues and discrepancies in the United States. We can fight so future generations can say we made a difference. Unfortunately, future generations will look at this period in history in this country and see nothing but political discord and a nation divided. But that’s neither here nor there in this review.