I watched Clint Eastwood's 'Gran Torino' last night ( Gran Torino ) and I was blown away by his brilliant performance.
Eastwood plays an elderly World War 2 vet named Walt that is haunted by pain, guilt and loneliness. He lives in an area of town that is surrounded by gangs, both Mexican and Korean and he just about hates anyone that isn't American or white. Actually he even dislikes members of his own family , and tends to growl at them. His distaste for people and his expressions were both appalling and made me laugh out loud! Walt is not a likable character. He is downright mean, rude and very prejudice. If you are offended with racial slurs, this movie is extreme, so go into it expecting to be offended, it is his character, and the audience isn't suppose to like him. That's good writing and good acting!
The movie opens up with the funeral of his wife. As Walt stands at the alter of the church he watches his family come into the church and snarls at them and then snarls at the priest. You know then that this grumpy old man has quite a story to tell.
Living next to a Korean family doesn't sit well with Walt and he does a lot of growling their way until an altercation erupts on his front lawn with one of the gangs. Armed with a rifle, he stops the violence with his signature "make my day" bad ass attitude. Walt suddenly becomes the Korean neighborhood hero, a reluctant one at that. It is a mixed blessing because he doesn't even like the people he rescued, they were just on his manicured lawn.
From this point you begin to see a different side of Walt. He starts to open his heart in his own surly, sarcastic and prejudicative way. His demeaning slang can be shocking to hear at times, but it works in this movie so superbly. As the events take place, and the drama of the story unfolds you find that your own dislike for this man start to fade. You begin to understand him, forgive him and actually like him.
In the end Walt looks for redemption and peace and finds it in an unexpected act of self sacrifice.
There are great moments in this movie. There is laughter and shock, deep messages and insight. I really enjoyed the interactions between Walt and the Korean girl next door. She understands Walt and humbly accepts his degrading insults with maturity and humor.
Its rated R for hard core language and moderate violence. I so enjoyed this movie because you come full circle with your emotions. Why is it called Grand Torino? I don't want to get to detailed with the plot for you, just rent it, find out and enjoy, or even growl...."go ahead ,make your day"
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I went to see it when it first came out at the theater. I didn't know exactly what it was about, and I went with a date. She is 1/2 Korean, and boy was I embarassed at some of the things Eastwood's character said. Turns out Sugie is a good sport, she said she enjoyed the movie too.
ReplyDeleteWe just saw the movie and it was (in my opinion) one of the best Clint Eastwood has made. The Hmong family that lived next door were exactly like the ones we knew in MN. They couldn't do enough for you to pay you back for any kindness you did to them. There were also Hmong gangs that were very scary just like in the movie. I agree with your critic all the way through. Keep up the good writings.
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