Gran Torino

To many a boy Clint Eastwood is the ultimate man’s man.  His personality on film is often that of the gruff outsider, the guy who people don’t like but need to get the job done.  Fistful of Dollars is one of my earliest film memories and I remember very clearly watching it on my grandparent’s big colour TV (my parents only had a black and white at the time).  I was totally taken with the man with no name.  A guy who’s smug demeanour could never be dented because he absolutely knew he was the strongest fastest man in the room.  I didn’t encounter Dirty Harry until many years later.  I never took to him in the same way, he just wasn’t as cool.  Now of course it’s Dirty Harry that defined Eastwood’s 80’s career.

When Eastwood directed Unforgiven in 1992 it was a spectacular way to draw the man with no name character to an end.  To clearly show what the past could do to a man.  The character had made a concerted attempt at redemption but found himself drawn back in to the life.  16 years ago it seemed like a career closer for Eastwood but here we are again with him directing his closure to Dirty Harry.

Neither Unforgiven nor Gran Torino actually cement their connections to Eastwood’s past films, rather it is up to the viewer themselves to draw that comparison.  Where as in Unforgiven we saw a changed man, in Gran Torino this is a man who revels in his out of place, out of time personality.  Walt Kowalski is a bitter man, his wife has just died, he thinks very little of his sons strength of character, and thinks even less of their chosen careers and families.  His war hero past covers many sins.  His abrasive and racist personality serves to keep people out.  Strange that we still find ourselves sympathising with him.

The film starts with the funeral of Kowalski’s wife.  He spends most of it growling at the priest, his children, and his grandchildren and apparently showing very little in the way of any grief.  We are soon introduced to his new Asian neighbours whom he makes it very apparent wishes weren’t there.  His neighbourhood is not home to the people he remembers but of course he’s not going anywhere.  When he rescues his neighbour from joining the local gang he finds himself the reluctant hero of his street.

Begrudgingly he begins to soften to the community around him.  Always in the background though are the threat of the local gangs and Kowalski’s past.  We know the old war hero is not a man about to let age obstruct him from confrontation.

Now having read the synopsis, would you believe Gran Torino is a drama-comedy.  Eastwood has managed to make his character’s overt racism seem relatively innocuous.  His attitude to the world around him is so blanket to everyone regardless of heritage that he just about gets away with it (still expect to find yourself wincing at some of it).  The “hearts in the right place” justification is just enough to keep you from hating the man.  I have wondered if the Dirty Harry character could be successful in the modern day.  The old-school sexism and the attitude to dealing with criminality of those films seem incompatible with what could be a hero.  It’s surprising that Eastwood with a character in his latter years can seemingly do just that in this film.

There are some acting issues across the board, the younger cast can be occasionally wooden and Eastwood’s growl can be a little much at times.  For the most part however Eastwood’s charisma and presence is enough to let that slide.  The directing this time is mostly on the subtler side.  It’s not lazy but it is functional.  There is very little frills to try art up this film in any way.

Overall though it still stands as a worthwhile closing point to Eastwood’s most famous character and his acting career.

6/10