Gran Torino

Sometimes I really think critics, maybe unknowingly, buy into the hype surrounding a film and thus are inclined to view it in a more positive frame of mind than if they'd heard nothing about the movie going into a screening. This may just be the case with Gran Torino, an okay film that has a few moments of brilliance but for the most part is a mediocre drama.

If it weren't for the fact it hit theaters in a few cities in time for awards consideration and had generated 'award-worthy' talk before many even saw the film, Gran Torino might have gone quietly in and out of theaters without much fanfare at all. It's not the masterpiece of acting you'd want from Eastwood if in fact this is his last film, and it's certainly not his best film as a director.

Of Clint Eastwood's two films from 2008, Changeling is by far the better piece of work. Angelina Jolie delivered a compelling, intense performance as a mother whose child goes missing and who is mistreated and lied to by the LA police in an effort to make their department look better. Eastwood only directed Changeling and his care and attention behind the camera is evident in every frame of that dynamic drama. I wouldn't venture to presume dividing his time behind the camera and in front of it as the main actor – and one of the few lead characters with acting experience – is what makes Gran Torino feel less than the professionally polished project normally associated with Eastwood. But there is definitely something off about the film. It's not just the fact the story feels dated or the fact Eastwood's channeling Dirty Harry again (much older and retired, but just as ornery) that gives Gran Torino a missed opportunities vibe. There are so many little problems that plague Gran Torino that it's difficult to take it seriously.

The Story

Eastwood stars as Walt Kowalski, a cranky racist introduced to the audience on the day of his wife's funeral. How cranky is he? Walt's sons don't even like hanging around the old guy. He doesn't filter his thoughts and feelings. Whatever he thinks, he says, and it doesn't matter one iota how racist or inappropriate his opinions may be. Walt's a Korean War vet who's retired from Ford after years of putting together automobiles and now that his wife's passed away, he's all alone in the home in which they raised their children. Overall Walt's lived a long and full life, but it's some sort of miracle that he hasn't been murdered by one of the many people he's insulted over the years.

Walt's racism runs deep, and he's unafraid of calling his neighbors every possible hateful word you can use to describe someone of Asian descent. He despises the fact most of his neighbors are now Hmong immigrants and he rails at them whenever one gets within earshot. Yet despite what can only be described as deep-set hatred for anyone not a WASP, he begins warming up to the teenage Hmong girl who lives right next door. After saving her from gang bangers, he begins a weird friendship with her that eventually expands to include other members of her family, in particular her younger brother. When a local Hmong gang threatens the family, it's Walt who stands up for the same people he spent years putting down.

The Acting

Eastwood is a fine actor and, truth be told, it's hard not to take into account all of his past work in evaluating his performance as Walt. His reputation can't be ignored. I, along with millions of moviegoers, appreciate what the 78 year old Oscar winner's accomplished in front of the camera over the last five decades. But I think it's a shame this role is the one he's ending his acting career with. It's not his finest hour. Grumbling and mumbling and yelling…maybe I could get past that if the rest of the story's developed enough to make up for it and if Eastwood was doing something we haven't seen before. But the plot didn't counterbalance the grumbling and Eastwood's not doing anything new here.

Ahney Her and Bee Van, the newcomers who consume most of the time onscreen alongside Eastwood, tackle their first real acting gigs with Gran Torino and the result is less than pleasing. Her and Van are trying hard and you can tell. Eastwood was going for realism in his casting of the main Hmong roles, and it's to the detriment of the film that he wound up with two actors who needed more training before jumping into such pivotal parts. Their acting at times is amateurish. Lines are delivered as if read straight from the page and it's distracting.

The Bottom Line

Walt's constant use of ethnic slurs gets old, but it's what the character's all about so it does make sense even if it's uncomfortable. But what doesn't make sense and what really pulled me out of Gran Torino was how this retired autoworker all of sudden becomes this crime-fighting, physically skilled do-gooder.

Walt's in his 70s and yet he has street punks scared to death of him, even after he puts away his gun. He's old; he doesn't look like a weightlifter. He's not buffed up in the least, so why are these young men (who are in great shape) shook up by his very presence? The gravelly voice isn't that intimidating. If you or I met up with an elderly man rasping at us and calling us by names that won't be repeated here, we'd be angry and ready to kick some serious old guy butt. But not the thugs in Gran Torino. When Walt 'races' off of a porch, grabs a 200+ lb gang member, throws him to the ground and proceeds to punch him in the face, the guy doesn't even fight back. Huh? How does that happen? Clint Eastwood played Dirty Harry but Walt's not Dirty Harry. Not once do we see any indication in the film that Walt's ever worked out since his days in the Korean War yet he can take down a much younger, much stronger, and much more inclined to violence gang member like he's wrestling with a small sack of potatoes.

Gran Torino also seems to have a hard time figuring out exactly how it wants the audience to react, which means as an audience member I was left confused over the message. I was also confused over the film's shift in tone and left completely nonplussed by the weird twist near the end. Gran Torino didn't do it for me and I'm still wondering what it is everyone else sees in Eastwood's performance that earns it such high accolades and awards nominations. I never once saw Walt – I always saw Eastwood…or an elderly Dirty Harry.

Source : http://movies.about.com