powerful and compelling

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2009)

In recent months of boring and useless movies, "Gran Torino" was a welcome change of pace. Clint Eastwood was amazing as always-- he should've won an Oscar for this role. Eastwood plays a man who recently lost his wife and struggles to find his own way alone and dealing with his "immigrant" neighbors. His own well-meaning and loving, but ultimately selfish family try to help him through his loss, but end up being more obnoxious than useful (come on, a big button phone as a birthday present?) He then befriends his young next door neighbor as Eastwood becomes the unwilling hero of the neighborhood for standing up to a group of gang members. His stoic, old-school and unwaivering beliefs make Eastwood's character come off as cold and uncaring, but he ends up showing Toad (as he called him) more guidance and love than he did his own sons. Though Eastwood's comments about "non-whites" are racist, they are incredibly funny and well-timed. Only someone that old could get away with comments like that. He reminded me much of my own grandfather whose racist statements left my jaw dropped at times. As Eastwood takes Toad under his wing, he teaches the young man about hard work, how to "converse like a man" and even how to hit on women. He also befriends Toad's sister as she has a tongue as quick and obnoxious as Eastwood's. I won't give away the main events or the ending, but it is powerful and bittersweet. This was a very impressive movie and I highly recommend it to everyone.