While almost everyone remembers Viggo Mortensen from one of his best-known roles — Aragorn in Lord of the Rings — he’s actually starred in a wide number of films. He’s been in Appaloosa, Hidalgo, and even the remake of Psycho from 1998. Right now, however, a role that won him Best Picture at the Academy Awards that was surrounded in controversy is blowing up on HBO Max according to stats from FlixPatrol.
While Mortensen may have said the controversy surrounding the film was “based on a load of bullsh*t,” it’s impossible to deny that plenty surrounded the film. It was called a movie with “the white savior trope with the story of a bigot’s redemption” and was heavily criticized by family members connected to the true story it was based on. Still, Green Book is currently the fourth most popular movie on the entirety of HBO Max.
“Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.”
Synopsis from HBO Max
Many relatives of Don Shirley have had a lot of complaints about the film. His brother once was quoted as saying, “My brother never considered Tony to be his ‘friend’; he was an employee, his chauffeur (who resented wearing a uniform and cap). This is why context and nuance are so important. The fact that a successful, well-to-do black artist would employ domestics that did NOT look like him, should not be lost in translation.”
Regardless of the controversy surrounding the film, it currently holds an impressive 83% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. People who want to watch Green Book and decide its quality for themselves should be sure to stream it on HBO Max.