The contentiously-received 2019 Best Picture Oscar-winner “Green Book” had its fair share of dispiriting controversies and embarrassing dramas surrounding its release, including claims of historical accuracy, and various, deeply tone-deaf and insensitive gaffes from those involved in the film. However, it doesn’t sound like Viggo Mortensen — who offended his co-star Mahershala Ali during the promotion of the film and shocked many by using the N-word in a public Q&A — and earned an Oscar nomination for his performance, is worried about how the film will be remembered in cinematic history.
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“Green Book” centered on a working-class Italian-American bouncer (Mortensen) who becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist (Ali) on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South. The film was accused of being a kind of modern “Driving Miss Daisy,” featuring many stereotypes and the unfortunate, outdated trope of the white bigot as hero for overcoming his/her prejudices; an insulting narrative, to say the least.
However, while speaking with The Film Stage to promote his directorial debut “Falling,” the actor-turned-director believes “Green Book” will stand the test of time, invoking Preston Sturges and refuting the idea the material was “insensitive.” He would continue to defend both Peter Farrelly and the film, suggesting the studio didn’t do enough to back them up.
“It was unfortunate that it happened, but the public, of all stripes, in all countries, reacted extremely favorably to the movie. I think––and I said so at the time––I think it’s a really good movie, and it’s going to stand the test of time,” he explained. “I think it’s up there in the finest tradition of the best work from people like Preston Sturges and others. It’s a really well-made movie, period, and a valuable glimpse of a specific time in U.S. history, with repercussions to this day and with lessons for this day. So it was unfortunate.”
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Mortensen also takes issue with the studio, Universal Pictures, not backing the film when it faced controversy. “I got shit for that, but why should I retreat? It was a great story, well told. The studio retreated for too long. It was an annoyance, but I’m open to talk to anybody about anything.”
While the choices the film made certainly ruffled feathers, it doesn’t seem to have detoured Viggo from his position on the project; the Academy also rewarding it with three Oscars, including Best Picture, will likely only reinforce this stance for years to come.