Gran Torino

Rating: 6/10 (9 January 2009)

First, before I say anything about this film, let me preface this review by letting anyone who reads this know that I watched an "Award's Screener" of Gran Torino and I did not see it in a movie theater (so I am unable to comment on the audience- which, I think often times can make/break a film going experience.) Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood's second film of 2008 (Changeling) can be seen as a culmination of his last decade of work. Eastwood, one of the few actors who actually might be a bigger draw behind the camera than in front of it, loves to tell the story of a man shaken by his past; a man whose faith in humanity and the divine has been uprooted through the harsh realities he has experienced (Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby.) I see Gran Torino as a sort of ode to these films. Eastwood, the male lead, has channeled the characters in these films and ended up with Walt Kowalski; the Korean War vet who loves his lawn, hates his neighbors, and can't quite seem to reconcile his differences with the man upstairs. Sound familiar? For me, the film was more of the same; which don't get me wrong- I some the aforementioned films- but Gran Torino never settled in for me like Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby did. I was never able to relax and enjoy what I was watching on screen because it felt old and cliché.
Kowalski, just like Frankie Dunn (Million Dollar Baby) and Bill Munny (Unforgiven) is a gruff old man who never gives the viewer a concrete reason to sympathize with him or his wonderfully timed sarcasm until he begins to peal away the layers of his sun baked exterior and let his emotions run free. The ploy has worked for Eastwood before, but or me, it never felt right in Gran Torino. Even when he opened up, I felt like Kowalski was trying to hard to make me feel anything but spite for him. I feel like Gran Torino, at best, merely featured Clint Eastwood running in place. He brought nothing to the table that we haven't seen.
Yes, the performances from the supporting cast were great, but Eastwood showed us nothing more than what we've already seen from him. Five years ago, this exact performance was moving and it felt right, but now it's nothing more than Million Dollar Baby two.