A Film with a Pulse

I am not a big Clint Eastwood fan. In fact, most of his films over the past ten to fifteen years I have found to be quite average. When I saw the preview for Gran Torino it caught my eye. In what is his supposed last role, Eastwood shines in a disturbing, yet essential film.

Everyone has seen it. The lovely middle class neighborhood of the 50's with the neatly lined sidewalk, wide front porches and manicured lawn. Now, many of these neighborhoods have since crumbled into the scarred, gang-ridden part of middle-class America. The 1972 Ford Gran Torino muscle car that glistens in Walt Kowalski's Detroit driveway brings us all back to better days. When American automakers thrived, decency dictated behavior and hard work equaled the good life.

The film is called Gran Torino, and Clint Eastwood is a bad-ass old coot. With a stinging wit and a tongue that comes out swinging. "Grrr," he growls and spits his disapproval at the world. It's an idiosyncratic performance that might easily have descended into comedic caricature. But Clint somehow pulls it off with profound pathos and bravado.

At times Gran Torino is a Wild West throw-down, at other moments terrifyingly honest and ugly. Think Dirty Harry: Redemption. This film holds a mirror to the face of an American dream in decline. The gritty, understated truth and heartbreaking familiarity we see compose a reflection of ourselves. Its a fact that is hard to forget while it still haunts us. I highly recommend you take the time to see what this film has to say.