Shockingly Sloppy film from an Un-Characteristically Lazy Eastwood

Rating: 4/10 (6 January 2010)

Gran Torino {dir. Clint Eastwood, 2008}
*1/2/****
Let me preface my comments by saying, I am not here to rally against this film nor am I someone who detests the work of Clint Eastwood (I count both Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven as two masterpieces of cinema). I was expecting to love Gran Torino, due to its impressive rating here on IMDb and its fairly positive critical notices, however, I found this film quite clumsy in its execution. Most of this is a direct result of an shoddy, inept script. This is not a situation of bad dialog (to the contrary, Eastwood gets the occasional stinging one- liner) but rather, of senseless construction and little care in story arcs and plotting. The film seems unsure if it wants to be a coming of age drama, wherein the crusty, set in his ways Eastwood learns a life changing lesson or if it wants to be Dirty Harry 6. In the end, the film is neither and is instead a jumble of both, and while there are some interesting moments within the two stories, every time the audience settles into the film's rhythm, the focus shifts top the other story.
The film eschews character motivation in favor of crass sentimentality, and suffers from split personality in the closing moments. At his directorial best, Eastwood can bring subtle and delicate nuance to rather stereotypical situations, here his work seems shoddy and just plain lazy. Revelations are rendered unrevealing and due to the lack of care taken in characterization, the ending has little cumulative impact. Were it not for Eastwood's sheer magnetism as an actor, the entire thing would be a disaster. As it stands, this film is a wholly minor work in Eastwood's filmography and a completely unsatisfying experience.