A new year begins and with it a new crop of feature films ranging from romance to science fiction featuring the top stars of today and tomorrow.
But it is the return of a living legend to the big screen that has made my cinematic mouth water. He is among the last of the great American movie icons, a leading man who's career has spanned over 50 years, a career not only in acting but also including producing ,writing, and directing. He has given us such unforgettable characters like; Rowdy Yates, the man with no name, Will Munny and of course..."Dirty" Harry Callahan, and such unforgettable films like; "Flags of our Fathers"(2006), "Mystic River"(2003), "Million Dollar BABY"(2004) ,and "Unforgiven"(1992), I am speaking of none other than Clint Eastwood.
His latest venture which he wrote ,produced, and directed is "Gran Torino", one of his darkest films in which he has starred in since his academy award winning film..."Unforgiven".
Clint plays Walter Kowalski, a grizzled ,tough old Korean War veteran and retired auto worker living in suburban Detroit, recently widowed and estranged from his children and their families, he keeps to himself, spending his days sitting on his porch smoking his cigarettes and drinking beers observing with disdain the slow deterioration of his once proud and peaceful neighborhood.
Much to his chagrin his neighbors nearest to his residence is an extended Hmong family (Laos/Thai) who are noisy and disturbing, being a Korean War vet he has grown biased towards minorities over the years, especially those of Asian decent. Late one night Kowalski is awakened and discovers that someone is trying to steal his car, a prized possession...his 1972 Ford Gran Torino ( a souvenir from his many years on the assembly line at Ford motors), the wannabe car thief...one of his neighbors, a teenage kid by the name of Thao (Bee Vang), the shy teenager is actually a good kid but is being pressured into initiation by a local Hmong gang using strongarm tactics...Despite Kowalski's prejudicial thoughts he can't stand to see people bullied and pushed around so he decides to take action as only he knows how to do...with force!
Now if your going into this film expecting a typical "guns blazing" Clint Eastwood film...you may be dissapointed cause its not that kind of film, If I were to compare it to other films I would say it was a mix of "the Shootist"(John Wayne's final film/1976), "Death Wish"(Charles Bronson/1974") with a little "Finding Forrester"(Sean Connery/2000) mixed in for flavor.
The film is rather dark in tone but with some moments of humor but be warned ,some racially sensitive individuals may find the content objectionable but the film is primarily about race relations and the innacuracies and misunderstandings of bigotry and the damage that it can cause. Director Eastwood has cast first time unknown Hmong acors in most of the supporting roles...Ahney Her(who plays Sue Lor, Thao's sister), stands out among this group of unknowns, she turns in a believable, and strong supporting performance in the film.
Also starring in the film are; Christopher Carley( who plays reverend Janovich), John Carroll Lynch( who plays a local barber/friend-Martin), and also look for a performance by young Scott Eastwood (yes Clint's youngest boy) as Trey, he has a small role but memorable.
Eastwood directs from a screenplay by Dave Johnson based on a story by Nick Schenk.
The movie has a surprisingly shocking ending to it, one I am hesitant to reveal here but something happens in this film to the main character that hasn't happened in a Clint Eastwood film since way back to his feature "the Beguiled"(1971).
Nonetheless if you're an Eastwood fan like I am and have been over the years you'll be pleased with this, his latest cinematic adventure...it will "make your day"!
