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Review

Gran Torino – Review

  • Directed by Clint Eastwood.
  • Written by Nick Schenk and Dave Johannson
  • Starring Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her.

After an absence of nearly 4 years in front of the camera, Clint’s back in this 2008 release. In Gran Torino he stars as Walt Kowalski, a retired Ford factory worker and veteran whose wife has just passed away. He enjoys smoking, drinking beer, and takes care of his Labrador Daisy but the pride and joy of his life is a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Fastback (made famous by Starsky & Hutch). He loves that car more than anything in the world, even more grandchildren but then again you can’t blame him because they’re not particularly nice, or even polite (That’s me trying not to say he’s damn right to hate those little pricks!). On the other hand, Mr. Kowalski isn’t exactly beyond reproach either. He’s not the man with the most social skills you’ll ever meet. In fact, he hates most people, especially if they’re not white, which poses a bit of a problem seeing as his lifelong neighborhood has become predominantly inhabited by people of Asian descent. And needless to say, he isn’t very fond of Asians (he calls them “swamp rats”).

Directly next to his house lives Thao with his mother, grandmother and his sister Sue. Thao is a gentile, introverted, and polite adolescent who seriously needs to grow a pair. At home he’s bossed around by his sister and outside he’s constantly harassed by his cousin who demands he joins his gang. As his initiation, Thao must steal Mr. Kowalski car. Seeing as he’s not exactly the greatest thief out there (damn it, Hudson Hawk where the hell are you when we need you!), he fails miserably but he’s fortunate enough to avoid getting shot in the face by the old man.

To repair his error, Thao decides he must apologize and work for Mr. Kowalski until he wipes off the shame he has brought upon his family’s name. Reluctant at first, he soon befriends his young neighbor guiding him through the difficult path towards manhood and even letting him drive his Gran Torino. In a short time span, he becomes a father figure to the young boy protecting him and his family from the local thugs and discovering along the way his past mistakes (and his love for Asian food).

The big question on my mind was, can Clint Eastwood make a bad film?

And the answer is no! Lord knows he tries though. A movie about female boxing? Who cares? A two part WW2 epic? Aren’t there already a trillion movies about WW2? A desperate and lonely woman who wants to find her lost child? Boring!

I’ll admit it. Every time I go see Eastwood’s new movie, I expect to loath it. And every time I get out the theatre, I can’t help but yap on and on about how great the movie is. Even when he casts Kevin Costner as the lead role, I still can’t hate the movie. I like watching Costner act about as much as I enjoy slitting my wrists with a fountain pen but I still think A Perfect World is a great movie.

Mr. Eastwood you always fail to disappoint me!

Gran Torino is no exception. Although it tackles a tricky subject that is already widely dealt with in Hollywood films (notably American History X or Crash), it surpasses these movies hands down. One of my main gripes about American History X, which I did not enjoy, was how easily the characters evolved throughout the story. Norton’s character goes from a black-hating, gun toting Nazi to the strongest civil rights advocate I’ve ever seen. I don’t care how much time he spent in prison, people never change that much!!!!!! In this movie, Mr. Kowalski does change his views on the world but in a way that is much more subtle. He doesn’t start out by being a member of a group that supports the annihilation of all that isn’t white and by the end of the film he’s still a grumpy and bitter old fart but just slightly more tolerant. His transformation seems less extreme, more probable and more realistic than many other films of this genre. This truly demonstrates how good the writing is in this film. Another aspect I really loved about this film was the use of the Gran Torino. Kowalski’s unconditional love for his car and his willingness to put it in the hands of a person he used to perceive as an “enemy” is a beautiful metaphor.

I give this film a cool +. I thought it was emotionally engaging, well written, well shot and I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it so much. Clint Eastwood proves once again that he’s an immensely talented director and still the most hardcore, badass actor on the face of the earth. Not to mention it’s actually quite funny in parts.

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About The Author

Romain

Representing generation 1988, Romain was born in France and bred on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Was fortunate enough to live several years in the U.S. and in Ireland where he was raised on Super Nintendo, Jurassic Park and Star Wars. Currently studying biology in France, spending most of his time skipping class and going to the cinema.

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Article Information

  • Posted: Thursday, March 5th, 2009
  • Author: Romain
  • Filed Under: Film, Review
Tags: , , , , , ,

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