Gran Torino

04/02/2009

by

The great man, who looks like he's 107 and sounds like he's 148, returns in front of and behind the camera in his latest outing, Gran Torino.
Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a grumpy, racist, stubborn, wily old man - a character or cliché you should all be familiar with.
When the Korean War veteran's children want him to move into a retirement home, he naturally digs his toes in.
High jinks ensue when his Asian neighbours provoke him into becoming involved with their lives in a 'my shotgun versus your face' kind of way.
I assume that people of various demographics and generations will view this film from completely different perspectives.
Do you pass off Walt's (Eastwood's) attitudes and morals as sweet as, or are you horribly offended and disgusted?
This is the very essence of the 'politically correct' debate.
After recent jobs like Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima and Mystic River, it is clear Eastwood tells a great story and is still in his extended prime.