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Gran Torino (2008)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Time Out rating

Average user rating

68 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

When Eastwood’s follow-up to ‘Changeling’ was announced in May, he quickly refuted rumours that he was making, belatedly, another ‘Dirty Harry’ picture. If its trailer promises a vigilante movie, the comedy-drama on release is actually a rather wise, insightful exploration of family and friendship, violence and vengeance.

Admittedly, retired Detroit autoworker and Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Eastwood, in what, sadly, may be his last lead turn) initially comes across like a curmudgeonly elderly relative of Harry Callahan: unable to conceal his disdain for his folks, his late wife’s priest, and those now inhabiting his slightly run-down suburb, many of whom are Hmongs who left south-east Asia for the US due to the Vietnam War. One such is shy teen Thao (Bee Yang), whose reluctant initiation into a local gang involves stealing Walt’s beloved 1972 Gran Torino…

Cue, much conflict: Nick Schenk’s screenplay centres on the encounter between Walt – a politically incorrect old bigot scarred by war – and today’s multicultural society. But as the film proceeds, with Thao’s sassy sister Sue (Abney Her) arousing both Walt’s protective instincts and his hitherto neglected capacity for self-analysis, it becomes more complex and engaging and it’s often very funny (as in a barber-shop scene where traditional American ‘masculinity’is hilariously exposed as an absurd construct). Finally, there’s a very moving development that takes Walt way beyond Callahan’s ethos. Eastwood’s subtle performance is as charismatic and effective as ever, while the movie covers his abiding preoccupations – race, age, individualism in a conformist world – with wit and intelligence. And in insisting that friendship’s more important than blood ties (or religious faith), Clint quietly goes against the grain. Predictably superior fare.

Author: Geoff Andrew 2009-02-17 10:56:04

Time Out London Issue 2009, 19-25 Feb, 2009

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User reviews of this film

GP said...

Posted on Mar 16 2009 18:30 Should have been awesome, great idea, Clint's character is fantastic, but the whole thing is let down by some really wooden acting, awkward writing and some scenes are really painful, with the feel of a high school play. SUCH a shame.

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Beegee said...

Posted on Mar 15 2009 18:43 Sorry guys, have to agree with H - this was so bad we left after an hour or so. Acted like a soap (excrutiating pauses between lines, hackneyed 'background' conversations), written like a sketch show and directed like a cartoon. I just didnt care what was going to happen to anyone, and quickly got bored of the thesaurus of racial slurs.
There was much to like about the premise - war veteran winds up widowed and alone among the people he fought against. Shame about the descent into farce - would have been a neat trick if the whole film has been in Korean, with subtitles even for Clint's trademark growl [grrrrrr jezuz urrrm]....

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KC said...

Posted on Mar 15 2009 10:45 Yes,bit of a slow start but when it get's going,it never stop's getting better. I'm the hardest man i know but it broke me up inside at the end. 1 of the best film's i'v seen,another oscar heading towards Clint.

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Madlyfried said...

Posted on Mar 12 2009 22:32 A really, really, good film. Very politically incorrect, though somehow it manages to work - Eastwood is a genius, and seems to improve with age. Reminds me of John Waynes' last (I think!) film "The Shootist", as it shares a lot of the same reference points. I just hope that it;s not Clints' last.....

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M&J said...

Posted on Mar 11 2009 22:48 A slow start to the film but improved later on with some very good comedy moments

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ms (asian female) said...

Posted on Mar 10 2009 19:47 There was an Irish man, Scottish man and English man.....

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Danny-k said...

Posted on Mar 10 2009 19:16 Hey nLon, perhaps what you've discovered about ms's inadvertent indiscretion in his post is that possibly we are ALL rasist now -
'
Project Implicit (US based), a virtual laboratory maintained by Harvard, the University of Washington and the University of Virginia, has administered hundreds of thousands of online tests designed to detect hidden racial biases. In tests taken from 2000 to 2006, they found that three-quarters of whites have an implicit pro-white/anti-black bias. (Blacks showed racial biases, too, but unlike whites, they split about evenly between pro-black and pro-white. And, blacks were the most likely of all races to exhibit no bias at all.) In addition, a 2006 study by Harvard researchers published in the journal Psychological Science used these tests to show how this implicit bias is present in white children as young as 6 years old, and how it stays constant into adulthood.
'
So you see, it's not just ms alone - it's that for most people we just don't recognise the Walt, deep within us.

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nLon said...

Posted on Mar 10 2009 16:50 To: 'ms' who Posted on Mar 08 2009 @ 20:01....How exactly would you define "the dark side of racism"? Perhaps more importantly, what do you consider the light 'n' fluffy side to be?

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Sutton said...

Posted on Mar 09 2009 13:34 A great film, with a superb performance from Clint. The movie was an uplifting journey of discovery for Clint's character. Though it contained a few cliches, I really enjoyed the film, which was quite funny in a number of places. Well worth seeing. Let's hope the big man continues acting as well as directing.

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ms said...

Posted on Mar 08 2009 20:01 How this movie has got any bad reviews is beyond me. A fantastic performance for Eastwood and the rest of the cast. Its very funny in parts and excellently delivered by Clint Eastwood. A fantastic film about the dark side of racism.

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BruceMcDougall said...

Posted on Mar 08 2009 18:38 An outstanding film by a truly great film maker.

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TRUTH TELLER said...

Posted on Mar 08 2009 18:23 It's early yet, but this is probably one of the best movies of the year. The kind of movie that YOU know should win the Oscar but never does.

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TRUTH TELLER said...

Posted on Mar 08 2009 18:17 This is an excellent movie. Don't miss it.
It's going into it's third week and the cinema is still packed out. I got there when the ads were on and found it hard to get seats. Ended up sitting way down front and all the way to the left and yet I didn't even notice once the movie started.
There is slight disappointment because the trailers/previews advertising this movie suggested that Dirty Harry was back but it's an excellent movie.
Clint is a tough old veteran of war who doesn't like the "chinks" moving into his neighborhood but ends up defending them from a neighborhood gang.
Eastwood produced, directed and starred in the movie. He clearly had the supporting roles played by less accomplished actors on purpose because he thought it would add realism. He was right.
It is a very entertaining and enjoyable movie.
Now if he would just do one last Dirty Harry.

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John P said...

Posted on Mar 08 2009 16:49 Poorly directed wooden acting slow storyline in fact I was really glad when it finished.

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luckypunk said...

Posted on Mar 07 2009 14:04 DannyK - your thoughts re the replacement of Walt/Clints own family with Thao and Sue are interesting ('When the film is over ask yourself who was his 'real' family?') but I wonder whether the thought couldn't be extended. There is a lot of talk about 'the old neighbourhood' in the film, referring to the fact that the the original inhabitants have moved out, to be replaced by alien newcomers. Walt is forced to confront the question 'who is my real family' by the contrast betweeen his family, who only want to take things from him, and the despised Hmong, who keep giving him things. It turns out that the values of the neighbourhood have remained. Jesus answered the question 'who is my 'real' family by saying: 'whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.' Walt doesn't just replace his biological family with another nuclear family, but with all his good neighbours. Cool film.

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