Clint East Delivers a Masterpice
Clint Eastwood delivers a spectacular movie and a gritty personal performance as a disgruntled Korean War veteran in his latest project, Gran Torino. Already nominated for many awards, Gran Torino has to be one of the best movies of 2008.
Clint Eastwood has directed many recent masterpieces such as Letters From Iwo Jima and Million Dollar Baby. However, in this movie Eastwood takes a different stance as he plays a racist white man, Walt Kowalski who is living in the slums of a fictitious middle class Michigan neighborhood. With the recent death of his wife and his retirement from his assembly line job in a Ford manufacturing plant, he has little left in the world to live for. He shuns his own family for he does not believe that his son Mitch (Brian Haley, The Departed) has lived up to his expectations. The only visitor that he rarely receives is the local priest, Father Janovich (Christopher Carley, Lions for Lambs), who promised his late wife that he would check up on him. Walt continuously turns him down or questions his character due to the fact that Walt believes that the priest is just a boy who just got out of school and he himself would have more knowledge on the death of his wife than him. The only joy that seems to keep him alive is his mint condition 1972 Gran Torino.
When Walt moved in, it was a predominantly white neighborhood. But eventually, more and more of his neighbors have moved out and immigrants have taken their place. He resents them almost immediately as he still holds a grudge against them from his days in the Korean War.
One such family moves in next door to him and Thao, played by newcomer Bee Vang, is a teenage boy who helps his family and listens to his sister Sue, played by fellow newcomer Ahney Her. Thao starts to get pressured by one of the Hmong gangs that are in a constant battle for power in the town with the rival gangs. The only difference in this situation is that his cousin runs the gang, so throughout the beginning of the movie there are many scenes in which they try to get Thao to join their gang. Thao constantly turns down their offers, and it is during one of these encounters that the gang tries to take Thao away from his family and brings the conflict onto Walt’s lawn. Walt brings out his same rifle that he used in the Korean War, and employs it to stop the conflict dead in its tracks. The gang unwillingly gives Thao back to his family, but in the process Walt becomes an enemy of the gang and they threaten to retaliate against him for interfering with their business.
Clint Eastwood delivers an Oscar worthy performance and examines the inner workings of the mind of a racist. While it might seem that he has no emotions whatsoever, he truly acts as a guard dog protecting his own interests. He fought in the Korean War against the same Hmong people that are now moving into his comfort zone, so it is an apt physiological to examine the animosity he feels towards them.
Bee Vang also does a good job, especially for this being his first film. Bee Vang’s character shows how to rise above peer pressure by continuously refusing to join the gang that his cousin runs, and portrays the good character to counteract the bald qualities of Walt.
I would highly recommend this movie, that is if you aren’t squeamish about hearing racist remarks. If you are able to temporarily stomach all the racist language used by Walt at the beginning of the movie, you will truly enjoy the transformation that takes place. Clint Eastwood has delivered many masterpieces, and Gran Torino raises the bar to a whole new level. We can only look forward to what he will come up with next.
