Gran Torino

Caveat emptor.

Good advice when deciding whether or not to see a movie based solely on its trailer. The current INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS one seems to paint a picture of a KELLY'S HEROES/DIRTY DOZEN buddy pic. That's only partially true, as viewers have discovered. I saw the one for GRAN TORINO several times last fall. Audiences were hooting and whistling in delight as they saw American icon Clint Eastwood aiming his rifles and automatics at a group of punks. His familiar sandpaper growl, warning them to stay off his lawn. The preview was contrived to make it look like an update of the celebrated Dirty Harry character, that maverick cop who, you know, shot first and asked questions later. The one who bucked authority and didn't give a tinker's damn about some dirtbag's Miranda rights.

When you watch GRAN TORINO, you get something far more insightful than just payback fantasy.  If the trailer needed to be cut to get the masses in, so be it. For once, I hope it did. I hope people came expecting some vicarious thrills and instead got an elegy that stayed with 'em. I sure did. Clint this time plays Walt Kowalski, a grizzled, recent widower, Korean War veteran, and retiree. He spent years working on the Ford assembly line in Detroit, and even had a '72 Gran Torino built for him. That classic sits in his garage, lovingly maintained. He's lived in the same neighborhood for decades and in the 21st century finds he's practically the only Caucasian left. There are gangbangers seemingly on every corner or cruising around, looking for their next recruit. 

Targeted is a young Hmong teen, Thao Vang Lor, who lives next door. Thao's initiation to the gang (whose members include his cousin)-stealing the Gran Torino. The plan fails, but the youth wants no part of the gang life anyway. The gang doesn't take kindly to this. After trying to wrestle the youth away from his house, they make the mistake of causing a ruckus that edges over onto Kowalski's lawn. Out comes the rifle, and some harsh words. Walt uses lots of harsh words, racial and cultural epithets that are as natural for him as breathing. He thinks nothing of directing his derogatories toward the very group he denigrates. Including the gang. 

They leave, but of course they will be heard from again. Meanwhile, Thao's family shows their unending gratitude by placing home cooked dishes and flowers on his porch. It's their culture, about as alien to Kowalski as anything could be. Walt doesn't even appreciate the company of his own family, who he observes as self serving suburbanites who only visit out of obligation. One of his sons, to add insult to injury, sells Japanese cars for cryin' out loud. Sue, Thao's brother, reaches out to the old cuss by inviting him over for a house party (she has to lure him with the promise of beer). Walt accidentally insults one guest, but otherwise makes the rounds without incident, discovering Hmong traditions, including some rather delicious cuisine. Walt will grow closer to Sue and especially Thao, who atones for his attempted theft by doing odd job's around Walt's house. 

Slowly, the kid will garner some respect from the old codger, a man wired to understand only a hard work ethic and bravery. Walt and the Lors learn a lot from each other, but then the gang hits back. So does Walt. A terrible cycle of revenge begins, leading to a different conclusion than we might have expected. GRAN TORINO is a potent Eastwood picture: filled with social commentary, colorful characterizations, and even a suspenseful narrative. This is not some ambiguous art film or screaming polemic. Some scenes are even comical, such as when Walt and his barber trade good natured (though still potentially offensive) slurs. The scenes between them reminded me of my own current barber shop. Part of his culture, part of being a man, at least to Walt.

That also includes that sweet ride of his. The pride of ownership, of something me made with his own hands. The film makes several interesting points about how individuals are defined by their stereotypes. Stereotypes, while sometimes unfair, are often very true. I have Italian relatives in Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, who've lived in the same brownstone for decades. The stereotypes you've heard-yes, true. I thought of them several times throughout GRAN TORINO. Walt's character was some sort of odd distillation of them. 

Just like Eastwood seems to be himself, GRAN TORINO patiently plays its hand, gradually allowing the characters and story to blossom. Along the way, we get some harsh doses of urban reality-people who remain in their cloisters remain close-minded bigots, always suspicious of those of other origin. This goes for many different characters in the movie. No one is spared the commentary, but Walt is the central character, an un-PC relic who at first can't quite take all the changes to his little world. But the most valuable (and unfortunately rare) qualities he possesses (courage, patience, rationality) allow him to make things right at the end, in ways that, while tragic, will hopefully penetrate the craniums of viewers who merely want the trigger to be swift.