While Roma was the film that many of us thought would win Best Picture, the tide took a turn when Green Book took home the award.
I’ll be honest. In my initial review, I gave Green Book a positive review. This being said, my thoughts begin to evolve throughout the awards season. This is because I of all the articles that I read over the past few months. I’m one to admit in all seriousness that I really got it wrong on the first attempt. For this, I apologize. While I cannot change the past, I can only move forward into the future.
While I don’t deny that there were some very fine performances in the film, I take the most issue with the script. When Dr. Don Shirley’s family start to pen up with their thoughts on the film, I listened to what they had to say. It made me realize that my initial take on the film is wrong. While I saw a film, it was one that did not tell the true story. I know that filmmakers often say that biopics are not documentaries. The thing is, when you’re making a biopic, you don’t really have much license to stray from the truth.
What we saw tonight is a travesty. In essence, Green Book is the new Driving Miss Daisy. When people talk about films with a White Savior narrative, Green Book is the main film sitting on top of the list. It’s also a film that basically ignores the book in the title. Like really? You name the film after one of the single most important books for people of color during a dark time period for American history and essentially throw it in the back seat. That book alone deserves more importance in the film. Yet they choose to ignore it for a different narrative altogether.
It’s been a very long awards season. To top everything off, the Oscars win gets dedicated to the late Carrie Fisher. I’m sorry but this is simply unacceptable.