Clint's acting swansong

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2010)

At the age of 78 Clint Eastwood has by all accounts retired from acting and used Gran Torino as his last leading role. The man has established himself as one of the best directors around, directing Unforgiven, Flags of Our Fathers Letters from Iwo Jima and Invictus, just to mention a few and at 80 his is still very active. But of course, he will also be remembered for being the Man With No Name and Harry Callahan.
Walter Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a grumpy old man. He is a Korean War veteran, his wife has just died and he has a soar relationship with his sons and grandchildren. He is racist towards oriental people, which makes things really complex because his formerly white working-class is now dominated by poor Asian immigrants, including his new neighbours from the Hmong people. But when the younger son Thao (Bee Vang) is being pushed into joining a gang led by his cousin Walt gets involved and becomes a local hero, much to his reluctant. As a way to make amends for trying to steal Walt's prized Gran Torino Thao works for the pensioner and the two start to form a bond. Walt becomes a father figure to the teenager. But the gang still tries to make Thao join them.
Gran Torino was always going to be judged on Eastwood's performance because it was meant to his last. Luckily Eastwood is very good playing both a grumpy old man with horrible views on race and the classic view that kids these days have no respect, but also a man who wants to keep his independent and is pretty much Harry Callahan as a pensioner. But he does also speak the truth sometimes like when a white teenagers tries to dress as a black gang member and ends ups being rejected by black people, which Walt saying he doesn't blame them (and this is from a racist man). There is also a good cast of mostly unknowns, with Ahney Her being excellent playing Sue, Thao's older sister who is a strong willed, intelligence girl who acts as Walt's mentor into the Asian world. Vang too is a good young actor who very believable as a teenager at a crossroads and needed a little toughening up.
Eastwood is also a very skillful director as he has shown many times before. He is able to keep the film at a first pace when most directors would have made similar scenes slow and drawn out. He is also able to keep a fresh sense in a film which could have easily have been bogged down in clichés. Eastwood is also able to crafts some good set pieces in the sub-urban setting, like the fight in the garage with flickering light. Gran Torino is also violence but Eastwood does not relish on it and this film is not as right-wing to say Dirty Harry which tries to justify vigilante actions. Whilst the film is sombre at times Eastwood is also able to lighten up and have a few jokes in the film just to offers some lighter moments. It does however get a lot more serious by the third act.
I admit I did not think the film was anything surprise at first and it is hard to like Walt as a character, even if it is justified able his family. But it growth on me and I was able to give Gran Torino a higher rating. This is thanks to Eastwood's skillful direction.
I also like the military style drumming in the score, a symbol of military past.
I do however think the IMDb rating is too high. Gran Torino is a good film, but not a great film. A rating of around 7.5 to 7.7 would be more fairer. It is not one of the top 250 films ever to be made.