Review: Gran Torino
Filed under: Drama, Awards, Warner Brothers, Theatrical Reviews, Oscar Watch
Long before it opened, Gran Torino gave movie buffs plenty to watch -- the hue and cry over the news that this film would be Clint Eastwood's final performance as an actor, the (erroneous) rumor that it was a return to the screen for "Dirty" Harry Callahan, the puzzling and perfunctory trailer, with Eastwood growling "Get off my lawn!" at a group of young intruders, the news that New York's National Board of Review named the film to its Top Ten List and saw fit to give Clint Eastwood honors for Best Actor and Nick Schenk the award for Best Original Screenplay. All of this was fun to watch -- and, to be blunt, more interesting to watch than Gran Torino itself actually is. Gran Torino is not actively bad -- and there are parts of it which are actually quite good -- but it is not, in fact a film that would be worthy of any kind of enduring honor or long-term interest without the considerable power of Eastwood's myth nudging it into the zone of contention. Gran Torino is, bluntly, a pretty good film -- sleek and brawny like the title car, but a little clumsy on the corners and with no small amount of knock in its dramatic engine.
Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a retired autoworker and Korean War veteran dealing -- or, alternately, not dealing -- with the recent death of his wife. Walt's a fairly hard-bitten man, stern and cold and distant. He doesn't want his family to reach out to him, and they don't quite know how; his Michigan neighborhood has become a Hmong community in the past few years, their busy and shabby homes in stark contrast to the tidy silence of his house. Walt's interaction with his neighbors is limited to glaring at them; as a group heads in for a dinner, we see him grunt: "How many swamp rats can you fit in one house, anyhow?" Walt's home is his castle; his 1974 Gran Torino, which he helped build, his prize. One of the neighboring youths, Thao (Bee Vang) is told to steal the car by the local Hmong gang as his initiation; Walt, hearing the break-in attempt, is out the door with a rifle in a flash. Walt not only thwarts the robbery, but he also stops the gang when they come back to make reprisals against Thao for his failure; soon, Walt's a reluctant hero, a mentor to the disgraced, repentant Thao, a friend to his sassy older sister Sue (Ahney Her) ... and a target.
It's unusual when you can credit the praiseworthy parts of a film to one person and lay blame for the flawed elements of it with the same person, but that's exactly what happens in Gran Torino. Eastwood the director is, as ever, a master technician -- his shots are simple and clean, his construction is plain-spoken and simple, his production design immaculate and yet lived-in. At the same time, Eastwood has not exactly been a sure and steady steward of story in his latest films. Million Dollar Baby is irredeemably flawed; Blood Work turned a fine thriller novel into an off-the-rack TV movie; Flags of Our Fathers a noble, well-intentioned and slightly simplistic widescreen epic. Gran Torino could have done with a little more shape and subtlety instead of growls and glares. On a performance level, Eastwood is as sure and steady and easy to watch as he's always been -- the gruff timber of his voice, the ease of his way, the micro-millimeter calibrations of his sneer and squint. If one thing hurts Eastwood's performance as Walt, it's the unavoidable fact that it feels like a performance -- as Walt stumbles, staggers and spouts racist invective in his way through the world, you're constantly conscious of watching a star give a performance. If another director had taken the reins here, maybe Eastwood would have been guided -- or compelled -- into giving a slightly more invested performance, but our enthusiasm for watching Walt doesn't come because Walt's a three-dimensional, fully-realized character and we understand where his traditions, beliefs and ingrained racism come from; it's because we're enjoying watching Eastwood be so "naughty," as if we were snickering at the sight of a favorite uncle telling a dirty joke.
Gran Torino also includes a few easy outs built into the story -- which won't be discussed at greater length for fear of spoiling the film -- but they're also fairly obvious. And even without those easy outs, the storytelling's fairly obvious. The second Walt tells the priest his wife, on her deathbed, implored to get Walt to confession, Father Janovich (Christopher Carley) that Walt considers him " ... an over-educated 27-year-old virgin ..." who " ... peddles eternity to superstitious old women ...", we know Walt will end up in the confessional booth before film's end; as soon as Walt observes bitterly that "I have more in common with these gooks than with my own spoiled, rotten family," we know that will turn out to be the case. (Part of me can't help but imagine what the great director Samuel Fuller -- a Korean War vet, who made real and raw films about war and regret and shame and race -- could have done with Gran Torino's script and star.) Gran Torino is a curdled mess, politically -- it carries the ultimate message that you should get to know individuals in an ethnic group before beating the bad ones to a pulp with your bare hands -- a weird mix of hollow liberalism and crowd-pleasing xenophobia. Gran Torino isn't a bad film, but it's not really worthy of acclaim, either; Eastwood's had far better vehicles for his considerable talents behind and in front of the camera, but considering that Gran Torino's heading towards the sunset of Eastwood's acting career, that's a good enough reason to watch it go by.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-09-2009 @ 7:29PM
Jonathan Kuhn said...
As much as I loved the film (more so than you, for sure), I can't argue with most of your critiques. However, as far as cliches go, I think Eastwood used these purposefully. Of course, that doesn't prevent them from being cliches, but I prefer that to someone making a movie full of them and not being aware of it or doing anything with them.
However, I think it's a bit unfair to say the message seems to be "get to know the good ones before beating up the bad ones." What we learn about Walt is that, despite all of the horrible things he says, he's not racist at all. At first it seems he hates pretty much everyone, as evidenced by his interactions with his own family. But eventually we realize that he cares about fairness and will do whatever it takes to make sure everyone gets a fair chance.
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1-09-2009 @ 8:37PM
Major Friend said...
"a weird mix of hollow liberalism and crowd-pleasing xenophobia"
Yes, because America is so extremely xenophobic. Thats why we are the most welcoming country on the planet. The minute an immigrant decides to become a part of America he is accepted as an American. This does not happen in any other culture.
It isn't crowd-pleasing xenophobia, but crowd-pleasing justice. We don't like to see these people hurt because of their national origin, but because of they hurt others. Nothing is sweeter than justice.
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1-09-2009 @ 9:46PM
Gary said...
Calm down a little their my friend.
It does happen in many, many other cultures.
Have you actually ever gone and visited another culture?
I assure you it is a lot harder to get into the US than many countries. If I wanted to live and work in America tomorrow I couldn't and I am an educated native English speaker with good experience.
It ain't the welcoming country you speak of no more.
You should try waiting to get through US customs.
What about the party of muslims kicked of a plane recently?
Or the guy who was forced to wear a borrowed t-shirt before he was allowed to fly because his t-shirt had Arab writing on it.
I am positive that many people in the US must live in some kind of little bubble that the real world never gets to penetrate.
1-09-2009 @ 11:01PM
uforeader said...
No, he's right. America is actually quite welcoming. It may be hard to get in (and that's just because there are so many people that want to), but once you're here, people are very welcoming. It's a nation of immigrants, even today.
1-09-2009 @ 8:03PM
Gary said...
Great review James,
Summed up exactly how I felt about this film. It was wonderful to watch Eastwood and without him this film would be a pretty average affair. It is well worth watching though even if just for his wonderful character.
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1-09-2009 @ 9:51PM
Peter Hall said...
Great review, James.
Sure, the script is an obvious ball with no corners for a surprise to hide in, but it still refuses to give in at a few key moments of pandering. The mentioned confessional scene being one that comes to mind. Sure, we know he'll end up there, but there is no huge confession, no suppressed war story to lather it on.
Good point that we enjoy the performance so much because it is a delight to see Eastwood play it 'naughty', but I stand that Walt's character is indeed three-dimensional. Sure, he's a live action, R-rated King of the Hill character, but I've encountered several like 'em in the real world. Are those the complex sort? Course not. Dead on, though.
The film is stocked with moments of predestination, yet still avoids harping on any overwrought sense of irony. Walt's journey is Walt's journey to death, not to sappy redemption. He doesn't change. He slings the slurs with only marginally less grit by film's end. He may not hate his neighbors next door anymore, but he still despises the departure the world has taken.
Plus it's hilarious. I loved it.
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1-09-2009 @ 11:14PM
uforeader said...
I thought Gran Torino was a pretty good movie, but not fantastic. It might barely make my top 10 of the year. I have to disagree with your point above that "Gran Torino is a curdled mess, politically -- it carries the ultimate message that you should get to know individuals in an ethnic group before beating the bad ones to a pulp with your bare hands."
That seems to be a misinterpretation of the true purpose to the movie. It seemed obvious to me Eastwood wasn't expecting us to look to his character as a role model or to have many qualities we should replicate. His character is flawed - he's racist, he's rude, he has a bad relationship with his children. But he's also loving and tender. THAT's the point of the movie - it's a look at a complex, flawed man and his impact on the lives of his neighbors.
We've moved past the days where the message of a movie is "love your neighbor" and "don't be racist." (except Crash, that is)
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1-10-2009 @ 7:22AM
AJ Wiley said...
Eastwood's direction and acting were good, but the script felt like a 70's/80's Charles Bronson movie. Oh, and the Hmong kids were BAD actors. "Oh, you're so enlightened! BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!"
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1-12-2009 @ 10:26AM
Kevin said...
Totally agree. I would also throw the Priest in there with the Hmong actors. I thought that Eastwood was the only one who gave even a decent performance, but that he was good enough to make it an enjoyable experience. This is by no means a great film (I saw it with my dad, and he said he read a review where someone said it was Eastwoods best movie. I need to find that critic and tape his eyelids open while watching Unforgiven) but its certainly worth the price of admission. One thing that did surprise me about the movie was just how often I was laughing out loud and smiling. The trailer and commercials make it seem like a heavy and depressing movie, but those scenes only make up a small percentage of the movie. The rest of it is lighthearted and (dare I say it) fun. It clearly doesn't deserve to be rated as a stunning achievement, or be nominated for major awards, but its the kind of movie I liked coming out of, and that I wouldn't mind seeing again.
1-16-2009 @ 12:54PM
David said...
You're completely wrong on this one.
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1-19-2009 @ 11:30PM
Collin said...
The subtlety and nuance of Eastwood's performance in this movie is that he doesn't force subtlety and nuance just because it is expected. It is a fairly one-dimensional character, with only slight glimpses at anything else being underneath. But my Grandpa was exactly the same before he passed away. So are a lot of the other people from that generation that I have met and spoken with.
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1-21-2009 @ 3:18AM
Jennifer said...
check out this entertaining review of Gran Torino from people who know what they are talking about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFB7hTj5cbg
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3-08-2009 @ 3:24PM
John said...
A few post-ers here have remarked on the true meaning of the film, but this is what I took away:
His 'hard-edged' persona was his tool (like all those tools in the garage) to cut through the BS of life and preserve a sense of human dignity - for himself and anyone willing enough to step up and forge true relationships - a rare and difficult thing. In fact what might be viewed as less-than-Oscar type performances from the supporting cast (although I thought Ahney Her was great) in a strange way made the film seem more human . . . kind of like 'we're not quite sure what we should be doing, but this person is challenging us to dig deeper and live out our lives more worthily' - - and of course it only works because these people affect him, too.
The humor was a refreshing and unexpected surprise, and I also appreciated how the moral theme of justice was treated in this film.
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1-26-2009 @ 10:30PM
Steve said...
Good review. I thought the character Walt eventually became a bit tiring and predictable, though Eastwood as an actor remained interesting to watch. The movie was "ok", not great. I agree that the basic screenplay had a lot more potential.
For me, the acting was not good, except for Eastwood, but even his character was one dimensional and could have been given more range. The scene with the black guys harassing the girl, and the white boyfriend dude not knowing what to do, was amateurish stuff. I was cringing at the stereotypical scene and how poorly it was played. The preacher was not played well, nor was the main kid, in my opinion.
There was a lot of laughter in the theater at scenes that I don't think were meant to be funny, but were deemed somewhat cartoon-like by the audience. The racial slurring being one example. I don't think the audience was laughing at the slurs, but just at how thick they were ladled out by Walt, over and over again, then more on top.
Bottom line, a lot of bad acting, too much racial slurring, weak plotline, lots of loose ends, underdeveloped threads, but nonetheless not a bad film to kill a Friday night but I would only rate it a 3 out of 5.
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2-16-2009 @ 10:39AM
Gill said...
I saw the movie differently, as a comment on political correctness in our culture on multiple levels. From that POV I thought it was excellent. My full review is here.
http://ortegaygasset.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/gran-torino/
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