Gran Torino (2008)

Clint Eastwood is a national treasure. Over his five decades in Hollywood he has created indelible characters, images and phrases that will live long beyond himself. That iconography brings us to his latest film Gran Torino which combines the modern Eastwood image as auteur and the classic Eastwood icon of tough guy, mans man. The combination gives life to an odd but engaging drama.

In Gran Torino Clint Eastwood is Walt Kowalski. Walt's wife has just died and the last thing tying him to life has disappeared. Walt doesn't appear suicidal but he is certainly unmoored as observed by the young priest (Christopher Carley) who presides over his wife's funeral and who at the wife's behest drops in on Walt from time to time.

More than anything, Walt just wants to be left alone. Even his to grown sons do nothing but irritate him, one of them by trying to get him to move to an old folks home. Further irritating Walt is the change in his neighborhood. Hmong refugees began moving in more than a decade ago and now dominate the local populace much to Walt's dismay.

He is forced into the lives of his Hmong neighbors when their teenage son Thao (Bee Vang) accepts a gang initiation that has him attempting to steal Walt's prized Gran Torino. Walt catches him in the act but doesn't call police. When confronted by gang members about his failure and unwillingness to try again, it Walt who with sshotgun in hand has to rescue Thao.

This leads to more involvement with his neighbors and eventually a begrudging respect, mostly thanks to Thao's outgoing sister Sue (Ahney Her) who befriends the old man with beer and really great Hmong food.

If you guessed the whole gang thing comes back and plays a major role in the movies finish, points for you. How it plays out however, you won't see it coming. Eastwood is a master of misdirection as both Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby have shown. Eastwood takes pleasure in rarely doing what the audience expects.

There is an odd quality to Gran Torino and it comes in the films strange sense of humor. Though the movie carries the heavy air of drama there are moments when Walt is dealing with his neighbors and especially when dealing with his two beefy, lunkheaded sons where laughs are mined that wouldn't be out of place in a sitcom.

Final

I'm not complaining, I laughed. The laughter however is awkward when considering how oppressively serious the rest of the movie is. Then again, there goes Clint, once again confounding our expectations.