Movie Review

Gran Torino

“Gran Torino” struck me as a different film for Clint Eastwood, or at least one that he hasn’t made in a while. He’s been doing great since “Mystic River," putting out dark, soul-searching material consistently leading up to this year’s “Changeling.” “Torino” is his first acting/directing job since 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby” and he makes the most of it. His character is like a 78-year old Dirty Harry, complete with racial slurs and hard-ass posturing. Clint making threats and taking names is basically what makes this movie what it is, which is cool and a shame at the same time. I’d watch Clint do anything but at the same time it’s disappointing that the screenplay, by Nick Schenk, doesn’t dig a little deeper.

Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Korean War veteran who has done his share of fighting battles. That’s not to say he isn’t under constant attack. His adult kids don’t like him living in his Detroit home by himself and want to move him to a rest home, his grand-kids can’t wait for him to croak so that they can ride around in his 1972 Grand Torino, and the young priest at the church keeps pestering him to confess. Not to mention the Hmong family just moved in next door making him none to happy. When the gang trouble of their young son Thao (Bee Vang) spills out onto Walt’s lawn, he’s there with a shotgun and a threatening “Get off my lawn.” The gang leaves and Walt is the hero of the neighborhood. Thao soon melts Walt’s heart, as does his sister, Sue (Ahney Her), and a friendship develops but Walt soon realizes that his two new friends aren’t going to find peace in this world for long if the gangbangers continue to harass.

The idea here is that Walt is a soiled, broken man. The war has left him as nothing more than a lonely, miserable old bigot with blood on his hands. Can he ever get back to feeling anything resembling life again? Schenk’s screenplay has a lot of religious overtones. The bond between Walt, Thao and Sue is obvious but also very touching, and the ending goes for the commendably higher moral ground. Just it seems weird to make Walt’s past wounds seem so blandly underwhelming. Walt supposedly harbors large resentments but after being invited to a barbecue and given some beers, he’s like Uncle Walt at that point. He should be a little more conflicted than he is.

The only reason the transformation works at all is because Eastwood is doing some of his best acting work here. He fills Walt with a gruff stubbornness, so tough that even his hard sighs seem threatening at first. Then, without the slightest bit of sentimentality or losing his grit, he also becomes nurturing and protective like a fatherly figure. I liked his scenes with Vang and Her. Vang has a clueless vulnerability and eager to please charm that goes well with Walt’s crabby, foul-mouthed ways. One scene where Walt teaches Thao how to talk to guys is hilarious because the two have worked out such great chemistry together. And Her is like a ray of sunshine, happy and filled with her own free will. I didn’t realize how much I liked and cared about her performance until her character meets an unfortunate run-in much later on in the movie. Her really does do a terrific job here.

As does Eastwood, the director. The movie seamlessly goes from buddy picture to moralistic revenge flick with little problem and despite missing what I believe to be a crucial piece, Walt’s transformation is made all the more compelling because of fantastic performances given, not just by Eastwood, but by his two younger cast-mates as well. “Gran Torino” could have been a better Oscar worthy flick but as it is, it’s another solid Eastwood movie nonetheless.

Craig's Grade: B

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%