"What the hell does everybody want with my Gran Torino?"

Rating: 7/10 (8 February 2010)

One can approach 'Gran Torino (2008)' as a sort of coda to the two roles that made Clint Eastwood famous: The Man with No Name and Harry Callahan, both of whom fought for justice, but did so by whipping out a gun and shooting a whole lot of people. Having presumably become more conservative in his old age, Eastwood's grouchy hero here comes to learn that vigilante justice isn't necessarily the right way to do things (though, admittedly, having a firearm close at hand does occasionally prove useful).
Eastwood's sympathetic lead performance is what gives the film its strength. Walt Kowalksi is a bitter, grumpy and bigoted old man, but he apparently has every reason to be so: his wife has passed on, his own children can't stand to be around him, and his only companionship comes from the sleepy labrador at his side. As we come to learn, however, this is a prison that Walt may arguably have built for himself, so embittered by his Korean War service that he has shuns the affections of all those who reach out to him.
Eastwood's lead performance is complemented by sincere (if slightly unconvincing) work from the supporting players, particularly Bee Vang and Ahney Her as Hmong-American youths who move in next door, much to Walt's consternation. In any case, it is the tired, weathered face of Clint Eastwood that dominates the film; few actors could make the phrase "get off my lawn" sound quite so menacing, and yet his lines also project a certain frailness, of a once-potent force dwindling in body and spirit. 'Gran Torino' is one of Eastwood's most enjoyable dramas of the decade.