Another one of Eastwood's Great Works

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2008)

I started wondering if there is a more consistent filmmaker working in Hollywood now, someone who can be held to the highest standards and who achieves his goals in a more graceful and flawless manner. For the last decade, Eastwood has delivered one amazing film after another. Most couldn't believe that he could top "Mystic River", "Million Dollar Baby", and others along the way. Then in 2007, he comes up with two fantastic movies, and "Gran Torino" once again defies expectations and proves he is one of our best directors.
It's amazing to see how this man can be both behind and in front of the camera and with his nonsense style, is able to direct a story that touches both our hearts and our minds and put together a performance that is a great achievement on his own regardless of the fact that the star is also in charge of the entire project, too.
"Torino" explores the relationships between generations and members of different cultures, including representatives of various ages and origins, using language that once would have been considered ruthlessly cheap and derivative, but here because of a tight and insightful screenplay serves its purpose well. "Torino" walks a tightrope, through a mine field of potential problems and backlashes and wraps up its very emotional story in one of the most satisfying endings ever in a movie.
Walter is a character who has seen his shares of changes and somehow has built an apparently satisfying world for himself and his family. However because of experiences that are eventually revealed, his existence has not been perfect, and in his later years, he manages to find ways to redeem himself, help himself, and others.
"Torino" is a hopeful film, a lesson in how humans grow and can aim for better futures, lives, relationships by showing us how sometimes it helps to give each other a hand, putting preconceptions and prejudices behind; yet not forgetting that transitions are bound to difficult and bumpy.
One of the most amazing elements in the film is Eastwood's solid turn as the man who must learn to find a reason to live again, even when this can only be done through the most unexpected ways. His Walter is captivating, dynamic, powerful, and moving, one classic role that is bound to be remembered for years to come.