Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood is the coolest old guy ever! Well, that’s the impression I got after seeing him in ‘Gran Torino’, a movie which I believe will introduce him to a new generation. Here Eastwood produces, directs and stars as the crankiest of cranky old men Walt Kowalski; ex Korean War veteran whose wife has just died and who’s estranged from his two sons and their families. Around him, Walt experiences a very familiar phenomenon of suburbia – the encroaching of a different cultural group of people, as the current group become increasingly displaced. In this case, it is the Hmong people who are moving into Walt’s formerly white neighbourhood, and finally right next door to him.

The first hour of the movie is a strange concoction of awkward, cringe-inducing, jaw dropping, politically incorrect humour, as Walt doles out racially inappropriate gems on his neighbours – of all colours. The unapologetically racist, gun toting old man has no qualms about telling everyone he meets exactly what he thinks of them, perpetuating every negative racial stereotype under the sun.

When one night a Hmong gang comes to force Thao, the teen next door who was peer-pressured into trying to steal his prized Gran Torino, to join them Walt comes to the rescue, so to speak. Wielding a shot gun, Walt demands that they all get off his lawn. So begins the old crone’s slow and hesitant bonding with his neighbours, as they make their way into his life and he develops a begrudging acceptance, realising that he has more in common with these ‘zipper heads’ than with his own family. And of course he is eventually won over by the rich culinary delicacies of the Hmong culture, or what he calls ‘good gook food.’

Before long Walt finds himself developing friendships with Thao and his sister Sue, as well as a fatherly protectiveness as they are continually harassed, and eventually attacked, by the neighbourhood gang. This is where ‘bad ass’ Eastwood shines as Walt steps into the role of the hero, intent on bringing peace to the children. He takes on guys young enough to be his grandchildren with a fearless disregard for consequences and the skilful fists of a hardened soldier.

From grumpy, cantankerous, unabashed racist to reluctant, but indisputable, hero, Eastwood is magnificent as Walt. With a shamelessly acidic tongue and the raspy croak of age and bitterness, Eastwood delivers racial slurs that would make even Mel Gibson blush – without batting an eyelid, and with the most intimidating of snarls. Even when he eventually warms to Sue and Thao, Walt remains his cranky, offensive self. And when it comes time to step up and save a neighbourhood that is no longer his, Walt undertakes his mission with conviction, culminating in an intense and shocking final showdown.

Apart from the brilliance of Eastwood, the rest of the movie is fantastic! From the dreary, dilapidated sets which present a community in distress, to the duel innocence and resistance (against the gang) of Thao and Sue (played by Hmong actors Bee Vang and Ahney Her), to the insistent young priest, determined to keep peace in the neighbourhood, the film tells a compelling and all-too familiar story of gang violence, crumble-down communities, and racial prejudices with originality and integrity. Far from the didacticism that movies of this subject matter can easily slip into, ‘Gran Torino’ simply presents one individual’s very unique way of dealing with the changing world around him and his indoctrinated bigotry. It is a must watch! [Image from http://thecinemaguy.comn/]