Gran Torino
Almost a fantastic movie.
WARNING: Spoilers Ahead
Gran Torino is the story of an old man (Clint Eastwood) who’s wife has died and now he one of the last white people living in a Hmong neighborhood, has to deal with his racists feelings and his struggles against the area gang members.
I had high expectations for this film and was slightly let down. The acting by some of the characters was just atrocious and distracting. The next door neighbor girl, Sue, was probably the worst. There is a scene in which she and her white friend are walking passed some black guys and they have an argument. The dialogue is written fine, but comes off as laughable. The other terrible actor in this film is the young priest that tries to help Eastwood’s character deal with his wife’s death. Every time you see him walk into the scene, you immediately lose suspension of disbelief and wait for him to ruin it.
One thing that surprised me about this film was the comedic value. There are more racial slurs and references in this film than probably any film ever made. The awkward laughter in the audience is not one of racism but more shock and awe. Eastwood delivers one slur after the other, each worse than the one before. It would be interesting to see this film a different demographic to see what the emotional tension would be like within the audience.
As the film progresses and Eastwood’s character begins to get along and feel for his neighbors, it really starts to get good. Although slightly predictable at times, I was still going back and forth until the actual moment at the end when we saw the final climactic showdown between Eastwood and the Hmong gang.
I really enjoyed the way the last act of the film came together. Eastwood’s character slowly making things ready for his departure from this world. Then the ending of his body laying on the ground, covered in bullet holes, but his arms stretched out, resembling that of Christ on the cross. His character knew that he would have to sacrifice himself to not only save the neighbors from the gang, but also to teach his young friend what it’s like to be a real man.
I really wish the acting would’ve been better, because if it had been, this would be one of the best films I’d ever seen. Unfortunately, only Eastwood brought his A game and it hurt the film.
February 8th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I agree about the acting. We saw this movie here in York, and we were the only ones in the theatre under 50. They laughed at a lot of things that weren’t supposed to be funny. They liked the racial slurs and probably are just like Clint’s character.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I agree with the piss poor acting. It’s a shame they wasted such a great script on some kids that can’t even deliver it properly. Aside from that, I enjoyed it. Go see Slumdog Millionaire. Great Movie!
February 9th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Wait, Wait, Wait… Hold up mister. Are you trying to say Clint Eastwood isn’t Jesus Christ himself? Get your facts straight you giggitty-goo-gop-hippy!
February 13th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I agree. To me it was a souped up coming of age after school special. I didn’t learn anything new from this movie… with that said, without the racial slurs and this being Eastwood last film, I’m not sure anyone would have cared about it.