Green Book controversy: Five reasons why the Oscars 2019 Best Picture winner is the most divisive in years

The Best Picture category at Sunday night’s Oscars turned out to be a real turn up for the books — quite literally — with Green Book coming out on top against the much-fancied Roma and The Favourite.

The civil rights drama follows black pianist Don Shirley, who is joined by his racist, white driver Tony Lip on a journey through the Jim Crow Deep South.

While Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen’s performances won favour with fans, the movie opened to mediocre reviews and a lukewarm reception at the box office.

In truth though, the critical response was the least of the film’s problems. Instead, it was the project’s troubled development and behind the scenes contention that suggested the Academy would well steer clear of the movie on Sunday night.

Director Spike Lee was openly critical of the Academy's decision, storming off after the Best Picture announcement and saying: “the ref made a bad call”.

These are five reasons why Green Book is the most divisive Best Picture winner in years.

There was opposition from the outset, not least because the film was being helmed by director and writer Peter Farrelly — who is white. The movie has since been accused of presenting the story through a problematic white gaze, and focusing the story around Lip’s experiences, rather than Shirley’s. This focus was shown in the nominations too, with Mortensen up for Best Actor and Ali nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

The biggest controversy though, which tainted the film’s development from the off, regards Twitter posts from the film’s co-writer Nick Vallelonga. In 2015 the writer falsely claimed that he saw Muslims in New Jersey publicly celebrating on 9/11. The tweet is especially damning given the sensitive nature of the film’s subject matter — and the fact that it’s star Ali is a Ahmadi muslim.

When it came to promoting the film last year, Viggo Mortensen’s decision to say the n-word during a Q&A for the film was ill-advised.

“In making the point that many people casually used the ‘N’ word at the time in which the movie’s story takes place, in 1962, I used the full word,” he said in a statement released to the Hollywood Reporter.

“Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I did use the full word last night, and will not utter it again,” he added.

Ali accepted an apology from Mortensen, but also spoke out about the controversial moment, saying: "However well-intended or intellectual the conversation may have been, it wasn’t appropriate for Viggo to say the n-word.”

Green Book has been hit with accusations of misrepresentation by the family of subject Dr Donald Shirley, who disavowed the film and claimed that the central friendship at its heart was a fabrication. The family also confirmed that they were not contacted about the project until production was well underway.

“It was an employer-employee relationship,” Donald's sister-in-law Patricia Shirley said during in interview with Shadow and Act. Donald’s brother Maurice Shirley also said that Tony was in fact fired in unceremonious circumstances.

“He fired Tony," Mr Shirley said, "Tony would not open the door, he would not take any bags, he would take his [chauffeur’s] cap off when Donald got out of the car, and several times Donald would find him with the cap off, and confronted him.”

As the Standard’s critic Matthew Norman was at pains to state, Green Book is essentially a saccharine piece of Oscar bait elevated by two strong performances. In that regard, it’s a surprising winner given the Academy’s more unconventional choices of late, which have tended to go against the traditional Oscar grain.

The Shape Of Water winning over The Post and Phantom Thread in 2018 and Moonlight winning over La La Land and Lion and Fences in 2017 suggested that the Oscars were moving away from recognising films like Green Book — which feels a little cynical in its execution, especially given the problematic development. It could also be accused of pandering to the traits of successful Oscar bait movies of the past, which have often included overly sentimental or simplistic attitudes towards race relations.

For all the off screen problems, the film itself is flawed too. As the Standard’s review reads: “[Green Book is] perhaps this is too uncomplicated a film for its subject. It telegraphs the feelgood finale at the start. It flips the black-white power balance in Driving Miss Daisy, but is equally content to settle for cosy reassurance.”

It’s certainly overly simplistic in its execution, skating over Shirley’s experiences of prejudice in the 60s Deep South and instead focusing on a white driver’s journey to enlightenment. Critics have accused the film of employing problematic storytelling devices too. IndieWire writer Tambay Obensen calling out the film’s "magical negro" trope in its treatment of Shirley, saying the character “exists almost entirely to help transform his white companion.”