One-Liner of Pinoy Viewer
Gran Torino is “a coming of age buddy drama-comedy” between a senior citizen-former war veteran who cherishes his classic-antique car and a young, troubled Asian kid who tries to steal the car to impress a gang.
Gran Torino is “a coming of age buddy drama-comedy” between a senior citizen-former war veteran who cherishes his classic-antique car and a young, troubled Asian kid who tries to steal the car to impress a gang.
Story
Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is recently widowed and living alone with his dog in his old neighborhood, now overrun with mostly Asian gangs. When the next door youth, A Vietnamese teen named Thao tries to steal his prized possession - 1972 Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation, Walt strikes up a relationship with the boy that profoundly changes both. As Thao and his Vietnamese sister, Sue Lor are threatened by gang members, Walt springs into action and sets out to clean up the neighborhood, using his gun and anything else at his disposal. Meanwhile, Walt's son and daughter-in-law show up trying to convince Dad that it is time to move away from the ever-changing suburb he has lived in for so many decades and try a retirement community, a prospect Walt will have nothing to do with.
Acting
Clint Eastwood gives the performance of a lifetime in Gran Torino. You will be reminded of everything that has made him a major star for five decades and astonished at the remarkable new challenges he sets for himself -- even in the sunset of a stellar screen career. Even though Walt's language and attitudes verge on usual old man's hard-headed mentality, Eastwood’s dry delivery of such offending lines actually elicits more laughter than outrage. It’s almost as if we are looking at what "Dirty Harry" Callahan might have been like in retirement as a senior citizen. His humanity is eventually allowed to shine through, and it’s the journey that the actor takes with this character that makes Gran Torino so worthwhile. Of the young newcomers, the Vietnamese actors are sweetly convincing and good foils for Walt’s crankiness.
Direction
Clint Eastwood as the director paces the drama in a leisurely manner, letting things unfold in its own due time. More than any other recent film he’s directed, Gran Torino seems defiantly old fashioned in its storytelling. Reportedly, Clint didn’t change a word of first-time screenwriter of the film's script and that does lend itself to some awkward moments , particularly in scenes with the neighbors. Clint has always been interested in different aspects of the race issues in America and here uses a disgruntled Marine to express what is simmering below the surface in many pockets of American life. Although younger audiences may find the film’s rhythms rather slow, the ultimate payoff is huge, and Clint fans are likely to eat it up. (Acknowledgement: www.Hollywood.com)
Pinoy Viewer's Rating:
5 Stars (5 Stars as the Best, 1 Star as the Worst)
