As my first movie review, I will be reviewing the 2008 American film “Gran Torino” Directed by Clint Eastwood and Written by Nick Schenk
Gran Torino stars Clint Eastwood as curmudgeon Walt Kowalski, a recently widowed Vietnam war veteran angry at the world in general and estranged from his family. Bee Vang portrays Kowalskis Hmong neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, who, on a dare from his cousin, Spider( Doua Moua) tries to steal Kowalskis 1972 Ford Gran Torino for initiation into Spiders gang. After Kowalski catches Thao breaking into his garage, he develops a relationship with Thao and his family.
Where do I start? The film was absolutely superb. I haven’t seen a movie that has touched me like this in very long. Eastwood’s acting and directing was some of the best I’ve seen for a while. Clint Eastwood proves that at 78 he is still at the top of his league when it comes to acting and directing. Eastwood has stated that this will probably be his last acting roll, and he could not have had a better way to go out. As for the actors portraying the Hmong teens, I would not expect anything better from first the time actors. They weren’t horrible, But their acting somewhat took away from the film in many ways. Bee Vang portrays his character in the correct way, from what I believe. His acting was only okay as stated before, but it was rectified by the fact that it fit his character almost seamlessly. The way he carried himself and spoke was that of the timid boy he played.
The setting (Detroit, Michigan) gave the film its real, gritty feel, combined with the grays and blues of the worn suburbs and costume design. The music at the end was beautiful and surreal and fit perfectly with the credits over the long shot of a road on the shores of lake Michigan.
Needless to say, the movie left me with a feeling of satisfaction. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Watch it.
A+
Gran Torino is Rated R for language throughout, and some violence.
Sources
Wikipedia
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
