No Bull - Eastwood at his very best in Gran Torino.

Every once in a while along comes a movie that is perfect in every way.  For me, the latest movie to fit that category is Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino (Rolling Stone Review). Clint Eastwood not only stars but produces and directs the film; something he has apparently hinted will be the last such project he will undertake. Only time will tell if he has the will power to refuse a doosie of a film!

Clintwood plays Walt Kowalski, a bigoted veteran soldier from the Korean War, who, as the film begins, has just lost his wife and has to deal with a family hell bent on pushing him into a nursing home so they can handle his affairs and grab his money!

Kowalski lives in a suburb of Detroit close to the Ford factory he worked for the majority of his life. He has seen his neighbourhood deteriorate over the years and the ethnic change is something he isn’t enamoured with. Added to that the growing problem of gang culture one has to wonder why he sticks it out. There is little on offer for the new generation, most of who are caught up in gang rivalry and street corners.

When we first meet Kowalski he has very few friends and in all honesty he has no desire to make any!  However, this all changes when he catches his young neighbour (Thao played by Bee Vang) trying to steal his treasured “Gran Torino”. What follows is an endearing relationship that grows and grows and with it he sees change in the neighbourhood and how he is perceived by his alien neighbours. 80% from Rotten Tomatoes.

There are truly magical scenes throughout the film but no more so than the interaction he has with his local Italian barber. They constantly verbally abuse each other and both appear to love every minute of the duel.  As I sat in the cinema last night I was surprised that such a film would attract such laughter from a spellbound audience but laughter it caused. The film isn’t a comedy by any means but such was Eastwood’s delivery he growled his way through the entire film and endeared himself to the paying audience, myself included.

Anyone call for a fixer ?

Part of the charm with this film is that in an era where everything has to be politically correct, it is anything but! Eastwood’s character growls at everyone including a do good Padre who tries every trick in the book to honour a promise he made to Eastwood’s dying wife – to get him to confession! For me this was the only negative part to the film, certainly at the start but by the end of the movie even the Padre had warmed to me!

The ending is both moving and unexpected and I for one won’t spoil it for anyone yet to see this film. All in all it was a wonderfully touching film and I do hope it is remembered when nominations for the 2010 Oscars come around (if it qualifies). If it doesn’t qualify how the hell was this film overlooked by the academy?  Highly recommended – I just can’t see any film beating this and is by far my film for 2009 (even if we are only at the end of February!).