Musings: Gran Torino (2008)

Gran Torino, USA (2008)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her

Clint Eastwood makes our day again.

Certainly, he does in Gran Torino. Eastwood, who produced, directed and starred in this film about racial tension, family ties and most of all redemption, adds another wonderful touch to his already remarkable masterpieces such as Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven.

Korean War veteran Walt Kawolski (Eastwood) is keeping a quite life at home, mostly having company with Daisy, his dog, and busying himself with the DIY’s household matters as he struggles to cope up with the recent death of his wife, the immigrant-packed Detroit neighborhood he lives in and the uneasiness of his relationship with his son and his bratty children.

He tends to build a life on all his own excluding the community he is in until Thao (Bee Vang), his teenage Mhong neighbor, is ordered by his cousin’s gang to steal Walt’s precious Gran Torino. It is by then that Walt is brought back by reality from his laments and guilt concerning his part during the Korean War.

Eastwood never failed to awe me in this movie both as an actor and as the director. From his horrendous expressions in the beginning to his wickedly comic exchange with his barber, with whom he exchanges vicious and explicit insults, one can definitely say that Eastwood’s next move is a must-watch. In inchoate hands the plot could have been raked in obvious familiarity and predictability. It could have fallen into the categories of crude comedy or over sentimentality if it hadn’t been for Eastwood’s portrayal. He takes in you in moments where you hold on to your seats, and he lets you see the fearlessness to express racial slurs, unappealing gestures and audacious insults right in front of your face, all in the Walt Kawolski’s way.

As the director, the man clearly knows what he is doing and how he’s going to have it in his way. His direction is lean, though the movie is quite extensive (remember, this is a Clint Eastwood movie), evidently taking the audience gradually to it exquisite conclusion. It is unhurried and yet not so slow to make you doze off or look away. He masterfully crafts it in a gorgeous piece which makes one delve in the scenario: from apparent racism, outright violence to remarkable revelations and redemption. He takes you in that fleeting moment through the cinematic masterpiece.

Notes:
BEST LINE: Walt asks a gang, “Ever notice you come across someone once in a while you shouldn’t f*** with? That’s me.” 

There are so many quotable quotes from this movie, mainly because of how Clint said them.