Eastwood's towering performance rises above a rare directorial misfire

Rating: 6/10 (8 March 2009)

Clint Eastwood's film-making career has led credulity to the cliché that some things only get better with age, showing a transcendent self-awareness and reflective grasp for supremely genuine emotional storytelling and allegorical commentary on America, and the steadily fading beacons of past moral values. As such, it is difficult to envision a more fitting cinematic project than Gran Torino, addressing traditional Eastwood themes of age, morality and changing times through an unrepentant racist of a protagonist forced to rethink his prejudices when confronted with close interaction of a Hmong teenager after an attempted theft of his prized 1972 Gran Torino. However, despite all initial signs looking exceptionally promising (with Eastwood's vicious growl of "GET OFF MY LAWN" in the film's trailer delightfully hearkening back to the days of Dirty Harry sadistic cool), it is all the more disappointing to see Gran Torino somewhat miss its mark, falling short of the modern masterpiece it easily could have been.
While the juxtaposition of Eastwood's snarling Korean war vet with his neighbours of various ethnicities could have offered for fascinating social commentary and an intriguing allegorical subtext for the state of American culture (using Eastwood's grizzled Walt Kowalski as symbolic for old fashioned values becoming increasingly outnumbered by exterior cultural influences and changing societal values - the American dream of a hard working family man not subverted, but shown to be worn out and fading continually out of touch), Nick Schenk's screenplay far too often only scratches at the surface instead of embracing such themes, an oversimplified bundle chock full of stock stereotypes and unconvincing supporting characters to drive its potentially poignant point home. There are moments which hint at the mature cultural reflection dancing continually out of reach (feeling old and out of touch, Kowalski snarls to himself that he has more in common with his similarly marginalized Hmong neighbours than his materialistic, self-serving sons), but such complexity is not readily apparent on the whole.
The film is by no means un-enjoyable, particularly as an old-fashioned morality tale and odd- couple bonding story (the interplay between Kowalski and his unwitting apprentice Thao has many delightfully hilarious moments), but not as profound or resonant as it feels it should be - an important commentary on gang violence, among others, falls flat due to being pursued through frustrating stereotypes. As such, Eastwood's film lacks the tidy trimming of plot his other features demonstrate, starting out strong but quickly lapsing into cliché and unbelievable characterisation, eventually simply feeling overlong, somewhat rambling and lacking of clear resolution and purpose. Some scenes, beyond simply feeling unnecessary, come across as seemingly unintentionally hilarious (Kowalski's teaching Thao to "man up" by embracing ideologies of cars, hard work - preferably in the trades - and heterosexual romance) in fashion which at times feels a directorial satirical wink, suggesting such traditional values are increasingly fading and out of touch, were it not for Eastwood's emotional focus feeling uncertainly positioned, making the viewer feeling inclined to root for a position they would normally feel inclined to chuckle at.
Furthermore, the treatment of Kowalski himself carries many elements of (seemingly unintentional) near self-parody, acknowledging Eastwood's baggage as a cultural icon, but instead of tastefully incorporating it into the story or subverting it, the image becomes overblown to an almost comical extent at times - as much as the viewer wants to see 78 year old Eastwood beat up gang members, the credibility of it, trained Korean vet or not, is still questionable. The film is also let down by a sagging third act, with an ending grasping at raw sentiment but ending up with excessive sap, and the potentially poignant use of Clint Eastwood himself grumble-singing the film's title tune over the ending credits comes across as less self-reflexively beautiful and more unintentionally silly than it should be.
As such, Eastwood's own performance is not only the main draw of the film, but ultimately its only real draw. However, despite narrative and directorial shortcomings, he as a performer more than carries the slack - his triumphant rendition of unrepentant, grizzled Korean war vet Walt Kowalski is endlessly watchable, as each animalistic snarl, grim spitting out of racial slurs and grimace as he reflects on his own waning physical potential are alternatively hilarious, gripping and touching, managing to take a despicable sack of a man and infuse him with gruff pathos, charisma and sly humour to spare. If the rumours of Kowalski being Eastwood's last acting performance do end up being true, it is certainly a prime example of a silver screen treasure going out on a high note. The rest of the cast fail to not only live up to Eastwood's standard, but even conventional standards of quality, as Bee Vang as Kowalski's repentant teenage protégé Thao delivers a dull, uninspired performance, making key emotional moments almost laughable, and Christopher Carley as the young, passionate priest continually butting heads with Kowalski fares little better. Ahney Her is a high point as Thao's spunky sister, but is unfortunately stuck with too many of the film's weaker lines to deliver a performance of too much merit.
While Eastwood is far too competent a filmmaker to have the film descend into the self- pantomime or grim melodrama it could easily have been, Gran Torino still marks a rare directorial misfire for one of American film's most lasting and reliable filmmakers. Let down by a weak script and the occasional questionable moral positioning, the film never feels genuine or compelling enough to have its elusive purposes ring true. Nevertheless, the singular pleasure of Eastwood's towering performance and alleged acting swan song is still enough to make the film overall worth viewing, but as a whole, Gran Torino primarily marks a mostly missed opportunity for something potentially beautiful and resonant.
-6/10