Movie review - Gran Torino

A curmudgeonly old Korean War Vet - and not curmudgeonly in a lovable way. He's a grizzled, grumpy, racist old man with a collection of guns in the house and whose own children try to avoid him. A Hmong gang trying to force their young cousin into their crew by getting him to steal his neighbour's prized 1972 Gran Torino. Said neighbour is the war Vet. Oh yes, somethings are gonna change in this neighbourhood.

There are some movie roles that make a movie. And there are some roles that can only be played by certain actors. One could argue that in casting himself as Walt Kowalsky, Clint Eastwood gave himself a plum role. On the other hand, how many other 78 year old actors could stand around growling at people or say "Get off my lawn," and let you hear the unspoken words *Or I will shoot you in the head.* As the recently widowed blue-collar worker comfortable in his ways and not liking the changes he sees occurring around him but secretly being eaten from the inside over things he's done, the changes in Walt's attitude could have gone so wrong in the hands of the wrong actor or the wrongly cast actor.

The Hmong supporting cast were not actors and it shows, but the two that Walt interact with Thao (Bee Veng) who attempted to steal the car and forced into restitution by his mother and sister Sue (Ahney Her), do well despite times where they're not quite convincing. Her as the one who draws Walt out of his shell by showing genuine concern for him (compared to his own alienated sons and horrid grandchildren) is quite promising.

A commentator on the IMDB board for this Gran Torino pointed out that men of a certain generation like Walt only really knew how to work, instead relying on their wives to help them interact with their family and often expected less from their daughters which conversely led to easier relationships compared to their sons. This is clearly seen through how his relationships with Thao and Sue changes him in a way that some people think unbelievable. From being forced to work for Walt, Thao's respect for his knowledge and experience (the garage scene), compared with his son's derision at Walt's career as a factory line worker, results in a mentor-protege relationship. Likewise, Sue who views Walt as a lonely old man who manages to draw him out by integrating him into her family with cheerfulness and flippancy. The genuine affection two have for each other is evident through their interactions and comes to the fore with Walt's obvious distress when Sue is assaulted in retaliation to his actions taken against the gang. Through them, while he retains his flippant racist remarks (probably out of habit), he comes to know that for all their differences, they are people dealing with similar issues as himself.

While possibly not the most original of stories, Gran Torino is a great showcase for the absolutely bravado performance of Clint Eastwood. It establishes that even with hitched up pants and wrinkled arms, he is still The Man. Sean Penn better have been freakin' awesome in Milk to have stolen won that Oscar.
8-9/10