Gran Torino Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)January 16th, 2009
"Gran Torino" - Go Ahead, It'll Make Your Day
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009
"Get off my lawn," says the gruff old-timer. I'm not sure if I would want Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) as my neighbor. And, as an Asian-American myself, he certainly wouldn't want me. When I think about the American of yesteryear, he is Walt. He worked in the auto industry until he retired. He smokes like a chimney. He fought for America, serving in Korea. He's proud to be an American. And he hates everyone who isn't.
Racist? Sure. Bigot? Yup. Discriminatory? Without a doubt. But this is Clint Eastwood and despite the liberal amount of epithets that he tosses around, you have to respect his cuss-filled ways. Oh, and don't worry. He's an equal-opportunity offender. Walt is unabashedly direct, regardless of whether he's schooling a pretty white boy, Asian thugs, or even his priest.
Part of the joy is just watching Eastwood sneering and posturing. He's a tough guy's tough guy. He's a durable icon, even to this day. And, I can only hope that I will have that kind of energy and determination when I'm 78. You know, you should just make time to go out and witness one of the last greats of his generation.
Life for him has been filled with more things that he regrets rather than rejoices. He becomes even more dour when his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager named Thao, tries to steal his prized Gran Torino. His sneer is enough to send shivers up your spine. However, unexpectedly, Walt wants to try to reform him. This won't be easy. Thao is awkwardly shy around the girls. And a local gang, headed by his cousin, wants to recruit him. Thao doesn't really deserve Walt's time. Walt looks for ways to "man him up". There's a kind of sweet partnership that evolves from these two unlikely friends. But while this film serves up light comedy, it's also heavy on tension as Walt finds his situation increasingly complex as he teeters between his principles and his prejudice.
"Gran Torino" is like a slingshot of foul-mouthed and macho bravado. Yet, it is also a light drama and oddly funny because, in a huge sense, Kowalski is a walking anachronism. The melting pot generation has arrived, and Walt, I think, never noticed and never wanted to notice. In manning up Thao, Walt grows a little bit too.
My grade doesn't reach "A" territory only because the final act isn't what we expect or hope from Clint Eastwood. It ends sort of flatly, yet there seemed to be no other way to end this film. The film is respectable work if not completely riveting. However, "Gran Torino" is a reminder that, as Walt would put it, we all need to man up a bit.
Grade: B+
S: 0 out of 3
L: 4 out of 3
V: 3 out of 3
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