GRAN TORINO (2008)

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"Eastwood’s masterful stroke works with dark pallets "

Clint Eastwood is my new hero. I don't mean that in a cynical way either, ever since Unforgiven he has become one of my idols. Now after the release of Gran Torino, he is (in my eyes at least) the master filmmaker of his time. It's impressive enough that at age 78 he can physically meet all the demands of producing, directing, and acting in his own films, but impressive as all that may be, the thing that just floors me is how dead on this 78 year old man is about our times and our country, its people, its problems, its cultural and generational gaps, he really gets it. He showed us he knew how things go and how life works with Million Dollar Baby, and now with Torino Eastwood reveals how strikingly unique, and ground breaking he can be as a filmmaker. Eastwood has a nearly flawless track record when it comes to his directorial prowess. With films like The Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider, The Rookie, Unforgiven, A Perfect World, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Bridges of Madison County, Blood Work, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and the more recent companion pieces Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo Jima, not to mention the also released this year, Changeling, its safe to call him a harrowing success. All in all Eastwood has starred in sixty six films, directed thirty three, produced thirty, and even wrote the soundtracks for nineteen. He won four academy awards, two for best director and two for best picture (On both Unforgiven, and Million Dollar Baby). All this is convincing enough to call him an American icon...and I didn't even have to mention Dirty Harry, or his famous line "go ahead make my day" (which is known by all, everywhere). Clint certainly has grown as an artist over the years, and his work (in a trend that most filmmakers can only hope and dream will happen), has only gotten better. Even with a career that spans FIFTY FOUR years, Clint Eastwood continues to set a new standard for himself and everyone else in the industry with each film he makes. Torino is no exception to that, and this may be Clint Eastwood's finest work to date (lack of Oscar Nominations be dammed). It breaks all new ground for Eastwood, even in a character that, on the surface at least, seems like an all too familiar setting. He portrays Walt Kowalski, a newly widowed, cranky and brass, retired army veteran of two wars. He is also a father of two middle aged over indulged sons (whom he hardly knows). Grandfather to three grandchildren whom he could care to know, and most importantly to Walt, proud owner of a 1972 Ford Gran Torino (of which he installed the transmission during his long career on the assembly line at Ford). In a call out to reflect recent events I'm sure, Walt's character in the film scolds his Toyota driving son (who's also a Toyota salesman) and says "Can't you at least buy American." This character may seem bland, even typical for Eastwood to portray, but there is nothing ordinary or typical with how the story and setting of this film begin to play out. After his wife's death, Walt stubbornly wants to remain in their lifelong home which resides in a steadily declining gang ridden neighborhood in a Michigan suburb. Walt hates just about everything except his dog, his gun, and his beer. After a Hmong family moves in next door and their young son begins to get hounded by a local gang...Walt finds himself unwillingly pulled into this conflict. It's not long before this seemingly racist, heartless character begins to reveal his inner demons, and noble intentions. Torino is a serious drama which draws its strength from realism and Eastwood's trademark non-conformity to the "Politically Correct" way of showing us his vision. It's a film with a firm message and a tragic lesson...what we do in life molds us into the people we become, and sometimes when that person isn't necessarily the person we wanted to be, its never to late to break that mold. It's also never to late to help someone else become who they desire to be. Gran Torino is a landscape of drama, humor, sadness and horror, all brought together perfectly on a canvas of celluloid...and whether it wins awards or not, Eastwood's amazing work of art will haunt the medium of cinema long after this master filmmaker sets his brush down. Any fan of American cinema MUST see this film.