Clint Eastwood gives a stellar performance as only he can
Image Courtesy of IMPawards.com
Director: Clint Eastwood
Notable Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Ver,
Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is the kind of old school curmudgeon that most people can’t stand but those who do, love him dearly. A veteran of the Korean War and a Ford retiree, Kowalski has stayed in the home he bought in the Detroit suburbs while working on a car production line. With the death of his wife, Walt is left alone in a neighborhood that is changing in a way he finds unsettling. Finding himself one of the few white people in a Hmong neighborhood, Walt finds himself battling against the change that is going on in his life. Finding a way to even insult Father Janovich (Christopher Carley), his wife’s priest, he catches his neighbor Thao (Bee Vang) trying to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation. With his sister Sue (Ahney Her) having Thao work for him as part of repaying the dishonor, Walt gets caught up in their world as he becomes a de facto father figure to Thao as he imparts upon him the sort of life lessons only he can give to the young man. The film follows their relationship, as the senior citizen finds a sort of redemption about his life that only being a mentor can give. But it only works because Clint Eastwood the director and Clint Eastwood the actor are on exactly the same page throughout.
Eastwood hasn’t let someone else direct his acting performances since 1993’s In the Line of Fire, and perhaps for good reason. It’s become cliché and somewhat of a standard to say that either side of his career in film, as an actor and as a director, would qualify him for legendary status. His characters are iconic and he’s crafted some of the best films ever made, it is true, but it’s hard to think that someone else would have the ability to bring out the sort of performance Eastwood has to provide other than Eastwood himself. This is vintage Eastwood, a great character in the tradition of the old crotchety old men he’s played as of late, and it’s another great performance. It’s an easy role for Eastwood to do but he does it better than anyone else.
Kowalski is an old Polish guy, cranky and resistant to change in any form, and it’s one of the few roles this year that one can’t imagine anyone else but Eastwood playing. Walt is foul mouthed with no real regard for political correctness no matter who the audience around him is, as correcting himself is something he would probably consider beneath him, but Eastwood doesn’t play or portray him as the sort of evil that many other directors would. Walt isn’t complicated or the relic of an era gone by; by all account he’s a good man who just happens to be an acquired taste. We can sympathize with him beyond just being portrayed by one of the great acting legends of our time; he does the right thing even if he says it in the least tactful way.
It’s in his relationship with Thao that we see that Walt is a good man. Bee Vang seems intimidated to be the same screen as Eastwood for the entire film, as he’s not an experienced actor and he’s working with a living legend, but it works on a number of levels because it’s how the character is supposed to be. Thao is a boy who needs to learn how to be a man but doesn’t know how and doesn’t have anyone to properly show him. The only people in his life who are men happen to be gangbangers and he doesn’t want that life, but doesn’t know how to get above it. He’s someone who is in need of guidance and Walt is the man to give it to him. It makes for an interesting dynamic, as Walt lets his guard down on several occasions and the true bonding between the two begins. It’s redemption of Walt’s life, as his kids don’t have a good relationship with him and he wants to find some peace in his life.
Gran Torino may have been released after his other film of 2008, Changeling, but it’s definitely his better film. It may not hit the heights of some of his better film, but it’s a solid second tier film on an already legendray resume.
