Responsible for some of the most iconic comedies of the 1990s with Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, Peter Farrelly is now breaking into the field of drama with his solo directorial effort Green Book. Recently announced as a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Universal Pictures has now released the first trailer for the film, starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali.
Playing like a reverse Driving Miss Daisy, it follows Mortensen’s character as an Italian-American bouncer from the Bronx who works as a driver for Ali’s character, a famous pianist on tour. With the Eastern Promises star sporting quite an accent, it looks to be an uplifting, powerful film from Farrelly, and should certainly make for a surprise this fall. Ahead of a TIFF premiere and Thanksgiving release, check out the first trailer and poster below for the film also starring Linda Cardellini.
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 premieres at TIFF and opens on November 21.