Walt Kowalski is a cranky old man of the "Get off my lawn" variety. We've all seen 'em. Crotchety and ready to denigrate the young whippersnappers who wear their pants too low or have one too many tattoos. A Korean War veteran of a different age, Walt speaks in a...shall we say...colorfully descriptive tone. To put it frankly, he comes off a bit racist. But in Walt's mind, that's just how people talk. And maybe that's why it's hard to hate the guy or get offended. Maybe that's why nobody around him seems to be offended by it.
Walt's wife just passed away, and he's left alone. He doesn't get along with his spoiled adult kids, nor does he understand his even more spoiled grandkids. Walt's neighborhood, which probably was once a bastion of caucasian purity, has been overrun by people Walt has limited experience with: minorities. In particular a large population of Hmong have flooded the area, to Walt's dismay. When Tao, a Hmong boy who lives next door, attempts to steal Walt's prized 1972 Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation, Walt finds himself pulled into the lives and culture of his Hmong neighbors.
Clint Eastwood is at the top of his game both behind the camera and in front. His no frills approach to directing has been lauded many times before, and it fits perfectly here as well. He provides every enough breadth and space to do the work, and his natural style creates an aura of realism behind every shot. His Walt is a man burdened with a layer of hatred just beneath the surface. Not hatred of any particular people, but of life itself and how meaningless it's become. It's clear by the way he keeps his weapons always loaded and at the ready, by the way he keeps people at arms' length, that he feels his most useful time is already past him. Maybe that's why he takes such an intersting in toughening up Tao, who is in desperate need of a man to show him the ropes. The interplay between the two is some of the best of the film, although I found the relationship between Walt and Sue to be most interesting. Sue, Tao's somewhat bossy but protective older sister, serves as Walt's entry into Hmong culture. She sees Walt as someone who needs protecting, maybe because he's been so sheltered from experiencing the outside world much the same way as her younger brother has.
Comparisons have been made to Walt and Eastwood's iconic vigilante Dirty Harry, and there is some merit to it. When a Hmong gang begins harassing Tao's family, it's Walt who steps in with a loaded rifle and a warning as cold as Harry ever could. Thankfully the film doesn't go the full vengeance route when it so easily could. I was afraid this would turn into Death Sentence, but it didn't. Instead, we're treated to a brilliant film about a man experiencing an awakening of sorts in his AARP years. Clint Eastwood has gone on to say that this will be his swan song in front of the camera, and if that's true it's sad because clearly he's still got it in him. However I'm happy that he went out on such a high note, with one of the best performances of his career.
8/10
