Dirty Harry meets...my dad...?!?!

Rating: 5/10 (18 January 2009)

The two dominant characters in the movie are not the "leads" - but two of the side characters. Grandma (played by Chee Thao) and Daisy (Walt's dog - and only friend). Their roles are not insignificant, though they will be overlooked by most viewers and critics because their angles in the story are perhaps the most subtle of all of the characters.
Yes, this movie pushes messages about matters we face today - racism, teenage life, generational and societal divides, political correctness, coming of age, aging parents and selfish children, redemption, etc. These messages are carried in a way that is neither condescending/cutesie-poo or blatantly over-the-top. They are delivered plainly and in everyday language, blunt without being obnoxious. Eastwood gave these messages to us in a way that are easy to understand without being preachy...and left the choice to viewers in how to carry those messages out of the theater.
There are elements in the movie that some will say are "award magnets" and obvious tear-jerkers. Not so, in my opinion. Yes, there are dramatic moments and the audience fully expects them. How the moments are presented are just a part of the grander picture...no more, no less. The dialog is thin, at best, and the actors' timing is off in many scenes. Yet these short-comings do not detract from the overall enjoyment of what the story is selling.
Back to Grandma and Daisy. Grandma is the Hmong counterpart to Walt - the crotchety old Korean war veteran who is, on the surface, very much a product of his era - cranky, racist old man -and I wonder how many will really appreciate the classic line, "Get off my lawn!"- but Grandma is his mirror. She demonstrates the fabric of humanity that binds people of different cultures in their similarities...when usually all we see is our respective differences. While Sue (Ahney Her) is the voice of the next generation with open eyes, her grandmother is the voice of the preceding era, from whom Sue learned how to read and understand a man like Walt. It's a very subtle and delicate bridge that I suspect many will miss.
Daisy is the gentle side of Walt. His faithful companion, she is the solid (if silent) presence that demonstrates from the very beginning that there is more to Walt than meets the eye. Some will just automatically assume the "Man's Best Friend" position - but there are several clues from the opening scenes that give away Daisy's facet of Walt's character...which culminate in the closing scene.
While most people will likely focus on the dramatic events and trite dialog to form their opinions of this movie, I'd like to offer up these thoughts to present a perhaps different perspective that is (hopefully) worth noting. Overall, the movie is weak, but the storyline is compelling and the nuances make it worth going to see.