Another great film from Eastwood

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2009)

'Gran Torino' takes its title from a vintage car belonging to Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) a racist war veteran with an indiscriminate hatred towards everyone, including his own spoilt family. An attempted theft of this car, coupled with an unintentional act of heroism helps forge a relationship with his Asian neighbours and his own redemption.
It is clear that Eastwood is an excellent director, taking a script that in lesser hands could have been a trite affair and grafts a tale that is suspenseful and emotionally engaging telling a story about violence, vengeance and racial tensions in American culture that instantly gets your attention and holds it.
While this is not Eastwood's strongest performance, it is one that is worthy for his final acting role, playing Kowalski in a way reminiscent of Dirty Harry and still maintaining a charismatic and powerful screen presence. A fine performance also comes from the unknown Ahney Her, who brings warmth in her on screen debut.
'Gran Torino' is an excellent outing for Eastwood, paced well with tactful blend of humour and a simple narrative of morals; but to make this film go that extra mile one could only wish that the film was more subtle rather than making every message so overt to the viewer.