The All-American Cranky Pensioner...

Rating: Null/10 (6 February 2010)

There aren't many near-octogenarians could pull off the role of Walt the way Clint Eastwood does. Let's face it, you see a scene on paper in which a crusty old pensioner is called upon to face down a trio of street-hardened punks intent on raping an Hmong girl who has strayed onto their territory and you're going to far the worst. But, for most of the film, Clint snarls and growls like a p*ssed off old pitbull who might not be too fast on his feet anymore, but who can still cause some damage if you get too close to those old jaws.
Walt is the All-American blue collar worker turned old and unwanted. His unappreciative sons stay away because of his curmudgeonly demeanour and want to put him in a 'luxury resort' for the elderly. But Walt is the last vestige of a bygone era when America was for Americans. He flies the flag outside his house and drinks American beer, and he despises his Hmong neighbours, little realising that he has become as marginalised from mainstream society as they are. The subdued teenage son of the Hmong household is bullied into attempting to steal Walt's Gran Torino by his no-good cousin, but Walt catches him in the act. Eventually, of course, he and the boy become close friends.
No doubt Gran Torino can be read on many levels, and although I enjoyed the movie immensely I couldn't help feeling that perhaps it was trying to cover too many bases. Like his country, Walt is haunted by the past and unable to shake the prejudices that have shaped him. The world has both expanded and shrunk so that residents of a country in which America once fought a war have now become uneasy neighbours. Walt's an isolationist – he wants to be left alone – but circumstances and the threat of invasion of his property make this impossible. The predatory elements within this new community need to be hived off and dealt with. So far, so straightforward, but lurking in the background is a baby-faced priest offering redemption through a church that Walt has forsaken – but to whom his recently deceased wife remained strong. And, for me, this ill-judged sub-plot of the film weakened it considerably. It was almost as if the scriptwriter had found a few pages from an old Pat O'Brien movie that he had fallen in love with and just had to include in the film. This is the 21st Century, and an objective appraisal of the situation leaves little room for religion, no matter whether the tale your telling is allegorical, metaphorical, or simply to be enjoyed on a passive level.