Clint Eastwood’s performance is the backbone of Gran Torino, a stellar movie

December 29, 2008 by vongsundara 

Prior to yesterday, I’d only ever seen one Clint Eastwood movie, Million Dollar Baby. I didn’t know quite what to expect going into Gran Torino, but I shouldn’t have been too surprised that Clint Eastwood once again delivers a stellar lead performance as Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran.

There are plenty of sites out there to give summaries, so I’ll jump into my generally feelings about the film.

Surrounding Clint Eastwood’s rock-solid performance are some unknown Asian actors. They do a good job for the most part, though their inexperience shows through in a number of scenes unfortunately, and they are not always believable in their roles.

The story itself was rather dramatic and quite enjoyable. I don’t know why, but I’m generally drawn to blunt and abrupt characters, such as the one Clint Eastwood plays. He’s kind of like Archie Bunker without the comedy and a whole lot of melodrama. The examination of his character’s adjustment to immigrant families moving into his neighbourhood is a subject not often explored in film and is handled quite well.

This film shows well the pressures on immigrant youth, particularly young males. Having grown up in similar circumstances, I could totally relate to Thao’s journey (Thao is the young Asian male co-lead who is being coerced into joining a gang). It’s nice that they showed how easy it can be for someone in his situation to be lead down the wrong path, as I have personally witnessed this time and time again.

Walt’s father-like relationship with Thao is really what is at the heart of this script.

At the end of the day, though, this film is carried on the strength of Clint Eastwood’s performance alone, and what a performance it is. It’s difficult to make an old, racist white guy somewhat likable. Clint’s performance combined with a strong script make for a worthwhile movie.

I recommend this movie to anyone and everyone.

Review Score: ★★★★☆ 

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