Drama

• Title: Green Book
• IMDb: link

Unlikely friendships are a well-mined trope in feature film. Just such a relationship is at the heart of Green Book starring Viggo Mortensen as an Italian thug and driver hired by a talented African-American pianist (Mahershala Ali) for a musical tour through the South. Getting its name from the book of hotels who will rent rooms to Blacks, Green Book offers the expected lessons in culture clash and gradual respect between its lead characters who learn from each other during their time on the road.

Although based on real events, the story follows the expected Hollywood script as Tony (Mortensen) and Dr. Shirley (Ali) bond on the road over their, mostly cute and/or innocuous, arguments and disagreements. Despite dealing racism, both blatant and subtle, Green Book never dives too deeply into the subject as to upset its crowd-pleasing dynamic. The result is a safe and predictable film that still delivers a solid story blustered by its two lead performances as Mortensen and Ali play well off one another. The film includes a large cast of those met on the road, but Linda Cardellini (as Tony’s wife back home) proves to be the only stand-out, and even her inclusion feels plot-driven as a necessary witness to the effect Dr. Shirley has on her husband.

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• Title: Mirai
• IMDb: link

Presented from the perspective of a 4 year-old boy named Kun (Moka Kamishiraishi), Mirai examines the emotions of a young boy dealing with the sudden arrival of a baby sister into his family and the unexpected upheaval her arrival causes to his normal routine. Through Kun’s fantasies and tantrums he also comes into contact with the teenage version of his baby sister (Haru Kuroki) who requests his help on an important mission.

Interesting without ever becoming compelling, writer/director Mamoru Hosoda‘s film feels very much like a personal tale centered around the family dynamic. Along with Kun’s various fantasies, the story also examines the roles of a working mother, a stay-at-home father, and a helpful grandmother. However, much like Kun’s disinterest in his inactive baby sister, the film (even with its more fantastical elements) never journeys far from what is expected. As a result, Mirai (which gets its name from Kun’s baby sister) never really blossoms into the magical journey we want from it. Despite this limitation, the anime is still a beautifully-rendered story that hits home on its lead character’s raw emotions.

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• Title: The Front Runner
• IMDb: link

30 years later, The Front Runner takes a look back at the fall of Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) who in the space of three weeks went from the presumptive Democratic nominee for the President of the United States to a cautionary tale. After some initial set-up laying the groundwork for the stranglehold Hart had on his party’s nomination in 1988, the script by Matt Bai, Jay Carson, and director Jason Reitman dives into Hart’s relationship with the media covering his campaign and his extra-marital indiscretion which, when brought to light, would be the end of his political career.

The Front Runner plays like a trainwreck in slow motion. It’s somewhat torturous to watch unfold seeing everything the uncompromising Hart worked for fall apart so quickly. Everyone, except Hart can see what’s coming. Unable to fathom how his personal life was the business of either the media or voters, Hart struggled with handling the situation which quickly escalated out of control as it opened the doors to a new form of tabloid journalism in politics (a slippery slope Hart himself commented on during the final speech of his campaign).

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