"Gran Torino" review
Jan. 10th, 2009 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
musingaloudWe went to see Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino" yesterday. I wasn't too keen on going to see it until I read a review earlier in the day. Hubby definitely wanted to see it as he's a big Eastwood fan. Me, not so much. I mean I've always liked most of his movies but I wouldn't say I swoon over him. Last night, I swooned. I loved that movie. Granted his character is a bigot that espouses racial epithets right and left, fast and furious throughout the movie. A lot of people won't like that. But I have to say once you get past the shock of the language, it's just so in character and you know right away that while there's no excuse for someone to be so bigoted, he also does not try to excuse it away, and there's a certain honesty in that. The movie is about overcoming racial prejudice, although there are some who will say that it promotes stereotyping, in my opinion it was very true-to-life. Well, except for the ending, but I'm not going to spoil that by remarking on it too much.
Clint's character, Walt Kowalski hates the fact that his neighborhood is being overtaken by the Hmong. He hates them and makes no bones about it. He's mean, bitter, and outspoken. He has no relationship with his sons and grandchildren. The only redeeming quality about him to begin with is his honesty and his love for his recently deceased wife. He is more than rude to the young priest who made a promise to Walt's dying wife to get the irascible fool to go to confession. The priest is young, earnest, caring, and as stubborn as Clint himself.
But the true joy of the movie is the Hmong family next door, teenagers Su and Tao (whom Walt christens "Toad"). Su is friendly and outgoing and the one who first makes contact with Walt. Tao is quiet and bookish, and runs afoul of Walt when he is forced by his cousin's gang to try and steal Walt's cherry Gran Torino.
I loved seeing the gruff Walt start to de-ice, the result of which were some of the funniest moments in the film. I won't spoil the movie by going into it any further. I will say the movie theater was loud with laughter during much of the movie, and at the ending, you literally could hear a pin drop. The audience's silence at the end was filled with respect, and acknowledgement that they'd just see a great movie. Or that's how I took it anyway. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time.
Clint's character, Walt Kowalski hates the fact that his neighborhood is being overtaken by the Hmong. He hates them and makes no bones about it. He's mean, bitter, and outspoken. He has no relationship with his sons and grandchildren. The only redeeming quality about him to begin with is his honesty and his love for his recently deceased wife. He is more than rude to the young priest who made a promise to Walt's dying wife to get the irascible fool to go to confession. The priest is young, earnest, caring, and as stubborn as Clint himself.
But the true joy of the movie is the Hmong family next door, teenagers Su and Tao (whom Walt christens "Toad"). Su is friendly and outgoing and the one who first makes contact with Walt. Tao is quiet and bookish, and runs afoul of Walt when he is forced by his cousin's gang to try and steal Walt's cherry Gran Torino.
I loved seeing the gruff Walt start to de-ice, the result of which were some of the funniest moments in the film. I won't spoil the movie by going into it any further. I will say the movie theater was loud with laughter during much of the movie, and at the ending, you literally could hear a pin drop. The audience's silence at the end was filled with respect, and acknowledgement that they'd just see a great movie. Or that's how I took it anyway. It was the best movie I've seen in a long time.
