Gran Torino Review

By John Flemming

Brilliant. Masterful. Powerful. These are a few words I would not use to describe Clint Eastwood’s latest, overly ambitious contribution to film.

A modern Western set in an equally lawless frontier formally known as Detroit, “Gran Torino” is the story of Walt Kowalski (Eastwood), a recently widowed, burdened-by-his-past Korean War veteran with a Viagra fueled hate on for what American society has become and who seems only too eager to rot away the remainder of his life on his front porch disengaged from his demographically changing and physically deteriorating neighborhood. However, his retirement plan of PBR and cigarettes predictably changes when he is reluctantly forced to interact with his neighbors after the attempted theft of his beloved 72’ Gran Torino by his Hmong immigrant neighbor Thao (Bee Vang). The failed grand theft auto, kick starts a series of events that tries to lead the audience through some semblance of a quest for redemption, understanding, and Jesus scale sacrifice but instead turns out to be a grueling and sometimes just outright awkward two-hour ordeal.

As mentioned before, brilliant, this film is not. The movie, while listed as a “Drama”, plays more like a comedy with unexpected moments of sobering drama that surprises us much like a shart (see: "Along Came Polly" – a pound for pound better money’s worth) rather than what it is intended to be: a drama with comical relief provided by the use of “old grumpy man” clichés that, well, are old. This is partly due to first timer Nick Schenk’s epithetical carpet-bombed script that used slurs so excessively that not only should the MPAA reconsider the “R” rating but also it obscured any real substance the script might have added to the movie – if any. Mainly, however, the film was hindered by Mr. Eastwood’s inability to direct the cast around him to deliver a formidable performance. At times, the supporting cast seems camera shy or unaware that their job is to be convincing. And on the subject of acting, praise goes to Mr. Eastwood who does indeed give the best performance of the movie (though definitely not of his career), but then again, that’s not saying much when the other actors could have been effectively replaced by cardboard cutouts. That is not to say Mr. Eastwood’s acting was terrible, but his true ability only shines through in the handful of the movie’s darkest moments like the “Get off my lawn!” scene in which Walt instantly snaps into soldier mode and one wonders if the traumatizing effects of war will lead him to pull the trigger without a second thought.

Unfortunately due to the technical shortcomings of this film, what could have been a powerful force of nature, in respects to the many messages that tried to be conveyed and deep issues raised that were only scratched on the surface, is just another menacing dark cloud that passes without an inch of rain. Like Walt’s car, Mr. Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” needs polishing.