Adding to the Legend

Rating: Null/10 (12 January 2009)

Gran Torino (2008)
**** (out of 4)
Clint Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a racist, Korean war vet living in the slums of Detroit. After the death of his wife he becomes even more distant but things start to change when his neighbor (Bee Vang) tries to steal his Gran Torino. Walt eventually comes around to befriending the boy and trying to teach him the right ways of doing things but a local gang has their own ideas for the boy. I was a little caught off guard with the opening ten-minutes, which were over the top in us getting to know Walt. I think Eastwood really pushed the envelope in showing us what a mean guy this was but in the end these scenes really paid off. I wasn't expecting too much out of this film but it turned out to be another winner for the director. What really shocked me is all the humor in the film, which mostly comes from Eastwood's racist views and names. Believe it or not the comedy coming from this stuff is very strong but once again there's a reason for this. It's not that racism is funny but it goes back to being soft or politically correct in today's world. The film tackles all sorts of subjects and, once again, I was amazed at how much of a character study this was. The screenplay allows each and every character to grow right in front of our eyes and this includes Eastwood's character, the young boy, his sister, his family, the gang members and even the neighborhood. This isn't a film for dummies, so to speak, because it requires the viewer to do a lot of thinking and I'm sure fifty-people could watch this and walk away with a different opinion on what its message is. There's no doubt Eastwood wanted to make a statement on today's issues but at the same time he struck true to the nature of our main guy. As for Eastwood the actor, I wouldn't argue that this is his greatest performance. It's hard to say considering how many great roles he has had but I believe this one will certainly go well with Dirty Harry. The amount of growth Eastwood gives his character was really fun to watch and his comic timing has never been better. The seriousness of the growl in his voice is also in fine form giving fans a lot of great one-liners. There's been some different opinions on the supporting players but I thought they all did fine work and that includes Vang and Ahney Her as the sister. Christopher Carley is also quite good as the local priest. This is a film that doesn't rush into anything and instead it takes its time to deliver the message it wants. It's very doubtful anyone but Eastwood would or could have made a film about a racist who also happens to be the hero of the movie but that's what Eastwood has always been about. Balls. The film has a lot of balls in its message, open politically incorrect attitude and its honesty, which includes the ending. If Eastwood really does retire from acting after this one he leaves us a great film and character to talk about.