Gran Torino

(2009)

A Movie Review

By

Jonathan Moya

Rating: 4 out of 5 or A-

The Plot: (from AllMovie.com)<= /span>

A racist Korean War v= eteran living in a crime-ridden Detroit neighborhood is forced to confront his own lingering prejudice when a troubled Hmong teen from his neighborhood attemp= ts to steal his prized Gran Torino. Decades after the Korean War has ended, ag= eing veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is still haunted by the horr= ors he witnessed on the battlefield. The two objects that matter most to Kowalski = in life are the classic Gran Torino that represents his happier days working i= n a Ford assembly plant, and the M-1 rifle that saved his life countless times during combat. When Kowalski's teenage neighbor (Bee Vang) attempts to steal his Gran T= orino as part of a gang initiation rite, the old man manages to catch the aspiring thief at the business end of his well-maintained semi-automatic rifle. Late= r, due to the pride of the Asian group, the boy is forced to return to Kowalsk= i's house and perform an act of penance. Despite the fact that Kowalski wants nothing= to do with the young troublemaker, he realizes that the quickest way out of the situation is to simply cooperate. In an effort to set the teen on the right path in life and toughen him up, the reluctant vet sets him up with an old crony who now works in construction. In the process, Kowalski discovers that the only way to lay his many painful memories to rest is to finally face his own blinding prejudice head-on.

The Review:

Gran Torino hints at everything Clint Eastwood w= hile cleverly dismantling it.   There is the Dirty Harry snarl and racist litany; the cigarette smok= ing antihero silence of the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns; the shotgun of Unforgiven existing in uneasy calm with the Magnum-like semi-automatic and = even the heavy memories of war wounds past.    Those parts of the Eas= twood legend exist in the manicured lawn and well-maintained home belonging to the recently widowed Walt Kowalski (Eastwood), the Korean War vet living in the slightly shabby neighborhood taken over by the “gooks” that hau= nt his past, the Hmong— a war removed (Vietnam) but still the same in his mind.

Walt wants to be left alone to mow his grass, wa= sh his 1972 Gran Torino, drink Pabst Blue Ribbon on his porch or to go out occasionally to the local bar or barber shop for some man talk with his war buddies. “Keep off my d= amn grass,” he snarls with shotgun in hand to those who violate his well = kempt legend. His family only jostl= es for their share of the inheritance.   The niece wants the Torino and the son wants to put him out to pastu= re and sell the house.   The= local priest Father Jovanovich (Christopher Carley), just barely out of seminary, wants Walt to quit handling things his own way with the local Asian gang and let the church and police handle them.&nbs= p; The Hmong community venerates him for what he has done.   <= /p>
Eastwood delights in giving his legend closure.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>   Gran Torino is both the last= Dirty Harry and Eastwood Western- even though it will not be the last curtain cal= l as Clint once teasingly suggested. The screenplay by Nick Schenk echoes the great Eastwood themes:   violence, vengeance, redempt= ion and finding peace with the past. &nbs= p; It chisels down the fascism and racism to Archie Bunker softness whi= le still keeping the will.   Walt’s ploy is the two-finger shooter backed up with the real weapon in his jacket.   P= ay attention to those who really do the shooting in Gran Torino.   The twist at the end is a two-hanky surprise. Walt gets all the Jesus, peace and redemption that Hollywood allows.

Gran Torino gets to have it all. Walt gets almost a real daughter a= nd son.   The legend gets closure. In addition, the aud= ience and this critic get to see a master create a minor masterpiece on time and = under budget with the simplicity of his movie-making genes. The legend gets an A = and a place in The Hall of Fame.   The movie gets an A-.   <= /span>

The Credits:   (From AllMovie.com)

Clint Eastwood - Director / Producer Bill Gerber - Producer Robert Lorenz - Producer Dave Johannson - Screen Story= Nick Schenk - Screenwriter / Scre= en Story Tom Stern - Cinematographer Kyle Eastwood - Composer (Music Sco= re) Michael Stevens - Composer (Music Score) Joel Cox - <= /span>Editor Gary D. Roach - Editor<= span style=3D'font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> James Murakami - Production Designer= John Warnke - Art Director= Bruce Berman - Executive Producer<= /span> Jenette Kahn - Executive Producer<= /span> Tim Moore - Executive Producer<= /span> Adam Richman - Executive Producer<= /span> Deborah Hopper - Costume Designer Ellen Chenoweth - Casting

With: Clint Eastwood<= span style=3D'font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> - Walt Kowalski Bee Vang - Thao Ahney Her - Sue Christopher Carley<= /a> - Father Janovich Brian Haley - Mitch Kowalski Geraldine Hughes - Karen Kowalski Brian Howe - Steve Kowalski Dreama Walker - Ashley Kowalski William Hill - Tim Kennedy John Carroll Lynch<= /a> - Barber Martin Brooke Chia Thao - Vu Chee Thao - Grandma=

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Copyright 2009 by Jonathan Moya

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