It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Peter Farrelly, the director best known for his comedy collaborations with his brother Bobby like There’s Something About Mary, Stuck on You and, yes, the Dumb and Dumber movies. Now, he’s back with a new film, Green Book, which is a massive departure from his previous work: It’s a drama, starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, about a mobster tasked with driving an African-American pianist across the deep South back in the heyday of Jim Crow. To say this is a pretty interesting shift is a bit of an understatement (though one common in cinema), but it doesn’t seem so bad, thanks to a new trailer released on Tuesday. Give it a shot — it looks better than you might expect.
Take a look:
Here’s a synopsis:
“Academy Award nominee Viggo Mortensen (‘Eastern Promises’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy) and Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (‘Moonlight’, ‘Hidden Figures’) star in Participant Media and DreamWorks Pictures’ ‘Green Book’. In his foray into powerfully dramatic work as a feature director, Peter Farrelly helms the film inspired by a true friendship that transcended race, class and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line. When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on ‘The Green Book’ to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger-as well as unexpected humanity and humor-they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.”
Green Book hits theaters on November 21, just in time for some Thanksgiving viewing. However, it’ll also be showing at TIFF next month, so we may have a review for you then.
Featured image via Universal.