Film: Gran Torino

Cast includes: Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), Bee Vang, Ahney Her
Director: Clint Eastwood (Invictus)
Genre: Drama

In brief: Nothing brings out greed and envy faster than a mint-condition 1972 Gran Torino, owned by an irritable, old grouch. Grandma isn’t even cold in her grave when the sons and grandkids start dropping hints. Everyone seems to want something from Walt Kowalski… Grandma’s jewelry, the Gran Torino… Father Janovich wants to get Walt to confession. And for some inexplicable reason, most of the “Gook” neighbors next door want to be neighborly. Thao, the teen-ager next door, is coerced by his cousin’s Hmong gang into steeling the Gran Torino… but fails when Walt catches him. Neither Walt nor Thao want to be friends, but Thao’s family is relentless. Walt eventually realizes that Thao is a good kid, but he doesn’t have a chance against his cousin’s gang. That’s when Walt determines to “man him up.” But that may not be enough.

The dynamics between a teen-age boy and a grumpy old man make a rich starting point… and no one does “grumpy” better than Clint. (In many scenes, he literally growls.) Add to that, a culture clash and some memorable Eastwood lines, and it’s easy to see why this movie delivers.

We’ve come to expect first-rate movies from Eastwood et al, and this one is no exception. BTW, if you look closely, you’ll see son Scott in a small role. Son Kyle was responsible for the score… his sixth for an Eastwood film. And Clint even sings(?) a few bars of the title song at the end. Clint says this will be his last acting role… that remains to be seen.

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