Eastwood, actor and director, on superb form

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2009)

A superb piece of cinema which sees Eastwood scale new heights as both Director, and Actor. I have never given a film a maximum rating before, as the very essence of art is striving for that little bit more. But not to do so for a work that so conspicuously accomplishes its lofty objectives would be churlish indeed.
The story is simple enough, just widowed Walter Kowalski, a Korean War veteran is becoming increasingly isolated. His wife has died, the world is changing all around him, and his neighbourhood is dominated by South East Asians, some of whom have moved in next door. Yet mistrust gives way to acceptance which turns to friendship as Walter fights one last battle with those that threaten his sense of values.
It is hard to watch Walter Kowalski without seeing virtually every character that Eastwood has ever played, and in part, he is a distillation of them all. Sometimes he doesn't talk at all, just emitting a Bear like growl, of anger? Of pain? Or maybe both. In part this is an elegiac, valedictory paean to the American Dream, embodied by his eponymous "Gran Torino". The American motor car holds an iconic place in U.S. popular culture as lauded by the Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen and Jack Kerouac, so when next door neighbour Tao is forced to try to steal it as part of a Gang Initiation, this is more than an attempted car theft. This is an assault on the very essence of what ex-Ford car worker Walter holds dear.
Yet it draws him into a culture which whilst ostensibly alien, he comes to realise holds dear values which he has considered lost. Family duty and service are paramount. Whilst his own son sells Japanese cars, his grand daughter has her own eyes on the Gran Torino, and the family are circling the Estate like vultures. The irony that the Polish immigrant antecedents of a name like Kowalski are testament to a previous generation's assimilation and adaptation of the American dream resonates throughout.
Pushing 80 years old now, actor Eastwood wisely eschews an overtly "hard man" role, yet in that icy stare lies not only the fictional quintessentially American blue collar views of veteran and production line worker, but also the ghosts of Dirty Harry and a plethora of Western vengeance seekers, and wreakers. The violence, such as it is, is understated. The depiction of the Mong gangs, restrained. Ever since the stylised teenage gang violence of West Side Story morphed into the gratuitous excesses of "Death Wish", American cinema has glamorised and celebrated this phenomena in shameless supplication to a teenage audience. Not here it isn't.
Director Eastwood has produced his finest hour here. Not a single frame is wasted. The American flag flutters behind him as he sits on his porch, dog by his side, early in the film viewing the wholly alien customs and language of his next door neighbours. The dialogue is similarly efficient. Elegaic, without being sentimental, Eastwood's trademark wry humour is also evident as he tries to introduce "man talk" to Tao, in his Italian hairdressers, and in his ongoing duels with a Priest a third of his age, keen to speak to him about matters " life and death".
There is an excellent supporting cast, lead by Ahney Her, as Sue who provides a linguistic and dramatic bridge between Kowalski and the surrounding community. If this is Eastwood's swansong as a leading role actor it is a fitting one. However I do hope that his Directorial ambitions remain. As an actor popular acclaim superseded critical acclaim resulting in his fairly late entry into the Directors chair. On this form he still has much more to give.