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Gran Torino
(2008)
 
There are few artists in Hollywood today of the pedigree of Clint Eastwood, and while his career has seen ups and downs and gone through more transitions than I feel lucky enough to count, his second release of 2008 not only proves that he's still got everything that made him famous in the first place, but also that he truly is one of the all-time great actors and directors.
Gran Torino sounds like it would be a movie about a car, possibly a racer, or even an auto heist flic. It is none of these. Instead, Eastwood presents an engrossing character study of a bitter old man who does a lifetime of personal growth after his wife's death. Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) hates just about everyone, especially all the racial epithets that have taken over his Michigan neighborhood. When Thoa, a young Hmong neighbor boy (Bee Vang), tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession, his 1972 Gran Torino, Walt begins a personal journey to accept others and come to terms with his own life by reforming the boy and keeping him away from the rampant gang influences that pressure him.
Okay, so the movie is about a car. Sort of. The Gran Torino in Walt's garage represents the America he grew up and worked in, an America that he's now in harsh denial about not living in any more. A Korean War veteran, Walt is, in many ways, still living in the 1950s as evinced by his pulled-up-by-the-bootstraps approach to life and his rampant hatred for anyone different than himself. Through his unwilling associations with Thao and his older sister Sue (Ahney Her) he learns to accept his Hmong neighbors and even puts himself at great personal risk to protect them from the local gangs who threaten their safety and way of life.
Gran Torino is Clint Eastwood at his very best, both as an actor and filmmaker. Anyone who fell in love with Clint as the silent Man With No Name or the scary bad-ass "Dirty" Harry Callahanwill love his portrayal of Walt Kowalski, and even at the age of 78 he's a tough old man that I certainly wouldn't want to mess with. But unlike his iconic hard-edged roles of the 60's and 70's, Walt is a genuinely likeable character, once you can get past all the racism and gruff isolationism, a man with a conscience and a palpable internal conflict that makes him sympathetic to the audience in a way Eastwood has been cultivating in his characters since 1990's Unforgiven.
From the very onset, Walt is avoidant of the church, depite the efforts of young priest Father Janovic (Christpher Carley). As Walt comes to terms with the mistakes of his past he also takes on a more generous, self-sacrificing role and eventually takes on the full mantle of a Christ figure. While at times the parallel is a bit heavy-handed, it makes for an effective dramatic mechanism, even when the subtlety is dropped in favor of full crucifix poses and stigmata. The primary result of these elements is not a religious one but rather a more general message that helping others can lead to one's own enlightenment.
It's rare that I see a movie more than once in the span of two days, especially this time of year when there are so many new releases and so little time, but I made an exception for Gran Torino. This is the performance of Eastwood's career and the tightest, most meticulously directed pieces from him since Unforgiven. While he has four Oscars under his belt, Eastwood still has none in acting, but I think this is the best shot he's got at the crowning achievement in the field which made him famous. Gran Torino is a subtle yet powerful tour de force which deserves to go down in history as one of Eastwood's best cinematic undertakings.
-Mark Moreland
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Director:
Clint Eastwood
Writer: Nick Schenk & Dave Johannson
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Runtime: 116
min
Rating: R
Release Date: December 12, 2008
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