Gran Torino - Review

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Nick Schenk
Starring: Clint Eastwood
Runtime: 1 hr 56 minutes

In the first twenty minutes of Gran Torino, the same thought kept going through my head: Eastwood is a legend.

With Gran Torino, Eastwood has proved that he has reached mythic status. Not because Gran Tornino is a masterpiece (it isn't), but because Eastwood will be forgiven for not making a masterpiece.

Take the set-up for Gran Torino. The first twenty minutes are not very good. The writing is on-the-nose, and the acting borders on cheesiness. But it's Clint Eastwood, so you watch. As the movie rolls along, you accept what you're seeing because Clint Eastwood is in it, and because Clint Eastwood directed it. You allow the script to treat you like a bit of a dummy and, later in the film, you begin to enjoy it. Finally, at the end of the movie, you like the story and applaud the effort.

Only Clint Eastwood can get away with this. No one else has been able to hop from action movie, to drama, to bad comedy, to action movie, to good comedy, to drama, to melodrama without skipping a beat. Though he has two Academy Awards under his belt, he is never expected to blow you away with his next movie. His movies do not receive the preview fanfare of a Spielberg, and his name isn't mentioned in the hushed tones that people use for Kubrick or Scorsese. Larry King never drops Clint Eastwood's name. Eastwood is a legend, but he isn't worshipped as one.

He is what he is: Clint Eastwood. Sometimes you get Dirty Harry, sometimes The Bridges of Madison County.

I can't think of another Hollywood star that has ever had such an incredibly good career. As an actor/director, he has never been put out to pasture. His movies are simple, effective, and workmanlike. A light here, a light there, roll camera. No big frills. The man is almost 80 and he hasn't missed a beat, so maybe he's on to something.

Anyway, there I am watching Gran Torino, and the dialogue isn't bad, but it isn't great. It's just on-the-nose and obvious: Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski, is a racist, and he proves it with every second line he delivers. There is no subtlety or subtext here. Walt's getting old, so his yuppie kids buy him a phone with an extra large number pad. Walt fought in Korea, so he doesn't like the Asian people that move in next door.

On-the-nose writing is bad writing because it treats the audience like a dummy. That's fine, if they're dummies, but if they're not, they won't dig it. There's an old saying in the writing game that if the scene's about what the scene's about, you're in deep shit. Gran Torino never heard of that rule.

If you're like me, this might bother you for the first twenty minutes of the film. Then you remember that it's a Clint Eastwood movie, and you just sit back and take it in. You forgive him for stuff that would get Spielberg creamed.

Gran Torino is as old a story as you can find: a prejudiced man learns to shelve his bigotry by befriending the people whom he despised. I thought this movie did a better job of it than Crash, a pretentious movie about race in America. Gran Torino felt more real: it takes a lot for me to watch a movie about America being racist instead of Walt Kowalski being racist. In a sense, Crash was far more on the nose than Gran Torino, because Crash was constantly pointing an accusatory finger at the audience and saying, "Shame on you." Crash was a message film. Gran Torino might be, but the message isn't shoved in your face.

When I say that Kowalski proves his racism with every line he delivers, I'm not kidding around. I'll bet some people will hate this movie for its "insensitivity." Me, I just thought Eastwood had some guts in not changing the script. Walt Kowalski uses racist language because he is a racist. What do you expect?

As with most Eastwood pictures, the production value is stripped down. I admire him for this. Eastwood continues to prove that to make a movie you need a camera, some lights, and a sound guy. A script helps, and this one could have been better, but the movie is not a dud.

The cast is good, mainly composed of no-namers. It's better for it. There's a couple of very good scenes in the barber shop and in the living room of Eastwood's neighbours. You'll have fun watching Eastwood punch someone in the face and grumble out one of his warnings, but don't make the mistake of thinking this is a typical action picture. It isn't.

During the closing credits, listen to the song. The first verse is sung by Eastwood himself, and he sings terribly. I like that. Eastwood's been doing music for his films for a while now, but I haven't heard him croon one out. He is still enjoying the movie-making process, and I still enjoy watching him get the job done.

Photos: Yahoo Movies, Rotten Tomatoes