Tanya’s Score: Good-and-a-half*
Rated: PG
Starring: the guy from Moonlight, the guy who did a fight scene in a towel, Linda Cardellini
Plot: In 1962, a classical pianist who happens to be black (Mahershala Ali) hires a street smart, working class bouncer from the Bronx (Viggo Mortensen) to drive him through the Southern states where he will be performing.
Tanya’s Verdict: Let me start with what IMHO are this movie’s biggest flaws: it’s a completely contrived piece of Oscar bait; and it’s as predictable as much as it’s designed to pull on the movie-goer’s heart-strings.
Now that that’s out of the way – I will go on record to say I really liked this one a lot. From start to finish, I was mesmerized. While there was a lot of room for moral lessons, inevitable character growth and the odd dramatic scene here and there – there was also a lot of humour and all-around entertainment. There is an undeniable chemistry between the two leads – Ali and Mortensen.
Contrived and manipulating – perhaps. But sometimes it’s still quite nice to watch an inspiring, based-on-a-true-story film like this one.
*Four score descriptions: Sh**; Okay; Good; Great