Eastwood furthers his legend

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2009)

Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" arrives in cinemas just two months after "Changeling" and it's another winner. Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a widowed, grumpy, bigoted, no-nonsense war vet who takes a young Asian boy (Bee Vang) under his wing after he catches him trying to steal his Gran Torino, a car the Ford Motor Company cranked out in the 70's. Vang has been targeted by a gang of thugs who want him to join their directionless cause; Walt sees some potential in the boy, so determines to cultivate it. A short summary can't do justice to the complexities the film addresses. Eastwood's Walt is one of the screen's great characters, a flawed Everyman who's been left high and dry by his wife's death and the changing social environment around him. The character spouts a torrent of racial slurs and seem steadfast in his refusal to accept another culture and its inherent rituals. The first half of the film mixes violence and bitter comedy as Walt clashes with the thugs and gradually warms to the ways of his Asian neighbors. The film's second half explores Walt's rebirth as he schools his charge in the basics of responsibility and the finer points of social intercourse (a couple of hilarious sequences here). He also clashes with a well-meaning priest who promised Walt's late wife that he'd extract a confession from the atheistic old bastard. Eastwood works his magic to deliver a very compelling, totally involving drama that ends on a solemn, powerful note. This considerable accomplishment furthers his legend.