Despite its flaws, I had a lot of fun watching Gran Torino, because the film might possibly be Clint Eastwood's final performance in a starring role; and while that could never be a good thing, it is something to cherish.
The film's gift and its curse, so to speak, is that Eastwood's Walt Kowalski is a lovable bigot -- think Archie Bunker with a 12-gauge -- and only Eastwood in that role could make audiences sympathize with such a hardass. Writers Nick Schenk and Dave Johannson deserve a lot of credit (and some scorn; I'll get to that later) for creating such an ostensibly despicable character and revealing, ever so masterfully, through the course of the film's running time, the heart within Walt Kowalski; but in the end it's Eastwood's direction and acting acumen that stick the landing. Picture David Morse in the lead role and tell me you could sympathize with him.
Walt's an asshole. He's a big fucking asshole. But he's also a big old softie at heart. I'm sure a lot of people watching the film will see their grandfathers, uncles, etc. in Walt. I certainly did; but just as I'm willing to acknowledge that some of my relatives have opinions regarding other races that are outdated and ignorant, I also know that they have nobility and compassion that transcend race. Again, Walt Kowalski is an asshole, but there's no hatred in him. Annoyance with pretty much everyone except his dog, yes, but at heart he's a decent human being who believes in right and wrong.
There's a reason, or several, why people become detestable, angry human beings, and in Walt's case it's his time spent in Korea during the war*, the death of his wife, and the disconnect he feels toward his kids and their families. His character's progression in the film from crotchety old bastard to benevolent hero may seem to many as contrived, but the plot earns it. Walt Kowalski is a racist as defined by today's standards, but if you were to ask him, he'd tell you that he's a product of his environments over the years, and that those unfortunate environs and circumstances and years have helped harden his bitter shell. Korea was Hell for him; he saw his friends die, and he killed at least thirteen "gooks." His once homey neighborhood has slowly declined into a ghetto; and so when Walt finally realizes that he, as Father Janovich puts it, "knows more about death than life," he decides to do something about it. He decides to become a new man.
To reach this progression, of course, a foreign element must come into the picture. Enter Walt Kowalski's next door neighbors, the
(Jeffersons)
Lors and their youngest children, son Thao, a bookish introvert, and his sister, Sue. When Thao is recruited against his will by his cousin's gang to steal Walt's titular car as an act of initiation, fails, and is about to feel the consequence of his failure (read: a thorough skull thumping), Walt steps in to save the young man, even though all Walt wants is for those dirty "swamp rats" to get off his well-manicured lawn.
For Walt's act of bravery, he's rewarded by the Lor family and others in the neighborhood with gift baskets that crowd his porch steps -- gift baskets that he quickly dispatches into his garbage cans. But when Sue convinces the increasingly annoyed Walt -- sorry, Mr. Kowalski -- to attend her family's get-together, and Walt agrees because he's all out of beer, Walt finally starts to loosen up -- and by "loosen up" I mean he gets drunk, eats Hmong cuisine with old ladies, and calls Thao a pussy for not sticking up for himself and trying to get fresh with "Yum Yum."
And while the kid who portrays Thao can't act his way out of a
(locked basement door)
wet paper bag, Eastwood's interaction with the two siblings, particularly with Sue, is what endeared me to the film. There's a lot in the film that feels like an After School Special**, as any film that tries to tackle the subject of race and racism must, I suppose, but it worked for me. Despite the over-the-top dialogue that goes out of its way to exposit that Walt is a friendly racist who doesn't discriminate (there's a paradox for you), it worked. Despite Clint Eastwood's tragically awful singing over the end credits, it worked.
3/4 *_*
* As someone who's spent a considerable amount of time in post-war Korea and has seen firsthand how it can turn seemingly normal men into angry bigots, I understand. I don't condone it, but I understand.
** Do they even make After School Specials anymore?
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