“Gran Torino” – 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ty Hampton
Critic’s Corner
Legendary actor, director, producer Clint Eastwood proves without a doubt that he is still the hardest working man in Hollywood with this epic tale of love, hate, and redemption.
If you haven’t yet seen this film in theaters and you’ve been looking for that great movie, look no further and check this one out now because it’s worth your $7.75 and then some.
Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is an aging Korean War veteran existing in a hollow, anti-social shell as he has struggled to move on and live life after experiencing wartime brutality first hand and suffering the recent tragic loss of his wife. The times they are a changing as everything in the world passes by Walt as he is at a standstill, spending his days shining his beloved hotrod and subsiding off of Marlboros, 12 packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon, and beef jerky.
In his suburban Detroit neighborhood a Hmong family living next door becomes the focus of intimidation and attack from a local gang, forcing Walt awake to do the right thing in sticking up for the immigrant family. To do this he must slowly shed layers of deeply rooted anger, racism and prejudice.
Aside from genius performances, aside from the amazing story, aside from the seamless cinematography – what I found most powerful about this film was its range. The film transitions genuinely from intense drama to quite hilarious moments of dry “Clint” humor. Some moments make you forget you’re watching a sincere drama instead of “Grumpy Old Men.”
Over the past five years Eastwood has brought us acclaimed piece after acclaimed piece, providing unarguably some of the best film of the new millennium. From 2003’s “Mystic River” to the following year’s “Million Dollar Baby” to 2008 projects Torino and “The Changeling” – everything this man touches seems to turn to gold.
But that’s no accident. Clint Eastwood is one of the greatest story tellers of our time, and he accomplishes that feat from in front of and behind the lens. Most importantly is Clint’s critical ability to get down to the heart of the real, authentic human drama that surrounds us everyday.
Frankly, (and I haven’t seen all the other nominated films yet) it’s a travesty that this film did not receive any nods for best picture, best actor, or best original screenplay from the Academy. Adding even more insult to injury is the fact that although Clint has four Oscars sitting at home for his directing, the man never won the big one for best actor.
From “Dirty Harry” to “Escape From Alcatraz” to Torino he never brought home the hardware and now we’re being told this will be his last on screen role. Regardless, I felt the man should have been considered for this beautiful piece of film.
I give Gran Torino 4.5 out of 5 stars for the drama genre. I highly, highly recommend this movie to any fan of film with one reservation – the language in Torino is fairly severe, including repeated use of ethnic slurs.
Gran Torino is rated “R” for harsh language throughout and violence. It’s showing nightly at the Showboat 2 Cinemas in Polson at 4:15, 6:50 and 9:10 nightly through Feb. 26
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