Gran Torino (2008)

It is fitting that Clint Eastwood has announced that this will be the last film in which he will appear (though if we’re lucky his directing career still has many years ahead of it), as it seems a perfect summation to the Eastwoodian ethos and the actors near mythic quality. Here is Harry Calihan in old age, inhabiting a contemporary Unforgiven tale. Korean war vet and ex- auto-assemble worker Walt Kowalski has just lost his wife (the classic Eastwood character is always spouse less) and feels largely alienated from the world around him. His long-time neighborhood has become largely populated with members of the south Asian ethnic group known as Hmong, and since Walt is a racist of an easily provoked (though not mean spirited) sort, and because he still nurses ghosts from his actions in Korea, he is withdrawn from his neighbors. Of course he is withdrawn from his family to, a distance whose cultivation grows from those same wounds of 50 years ago, and which is only exacerbated by the generation gap and how spoiled and superficial his children and grandchildren are (some think this is over played in the film, which it is, but its not hard to understand the point Eastwood is trying to make). Circumstances collide, in a typically well handled way, to provide for a variant redemption tale, a character sketch come emotional journey of self discovery, the pathos of this silent generation Archie Bunker. In some ways Eastwood’s performance and character arc is not unreminiscent of Rod Steiger’s in In the Heat of the Night (1967); of course we couldn’t have had Stieger’s journey without the imposition of Sydney Poiter, whose figurative role and story purpose is divided between two young Hmong performers (Bee Vang and Ahney Her) who each have a respectable screen presence and bring unique and vital elements to the proceedings. The film is tonely right for all that is has to do and say, and is a fulfilling and satisfactorily deep benediction to its stars acting career. Grade: A