Gran Torino

Pam and I saw Clint Eastwood's newest (and reportedly final) feature, "Gran Torino", on its opening night, Friday, January 9.

I was talking to a good friend and fellow Eastwood fan at Hospitality Hour at church today (between first and second service). I told him that I can't remember when the last time was that I enjoyed a movie so fully that was not a fantasy film (e.g., Chronicles of Narnia, Batman:Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, etc. (Yes, I know Indiana Jones is technically not fantasy, but you get my drift; don't tell me you believe it could actually happen, puh-leeze.) Nor do I expect to see one again soon that will compare to it.

The movie runs about an hour and 50 minutes and feels maybe half that long; it pulls you in so quickly and thoroughly that it just zips by. It runs the broad spectrum of emotions: anger, fear, warmth, humor and ultimately love.

Veteran film critic Roger Ebert describes Eastwood's role here as "Dirty Harry on a pension." He is partly right. Eastwood is still gunning for justice and boy, can he pull off the one-liners. I have only seen the first of the "Dirty Harry" films, so am not the best expert to be writing about this, but based on that alone, I would say that Walt Kowalski (Eastwood's name in "Gran Torino") is more nuanced than Harry was. And justifiably so...this is 38 years later after all.

Issues of both religious understanding and race relations are explored here, in a way that is both realistic and oddly respectful. Death has recently impacted Walt Kowalski, so he is processing that, as well as an additional array of life changes that have come his way in recent years.

This is a thoughtful, beautiful film that takes its time and doesn't race us along towards an inevitable climax. It unfolds gradually, with occasional sudden surprises, just like life does.

The language is PLENTY salty, words that I do not use nor do I allow my children to use them (or my friends, without a reprimand!). In considering this, though, I remembered a quote from another famous actor that is worth keeping in mind. This is a brief excerpt from a letter that Governor Ronald Reagan wrote in 1970 to the director of Patton, Frank Schaffner:

"I have long been an opponent, as you know, of vulgarity, obscenity, and profanity on the screen as we are seeing it in so many pictures. On the other hand, I've never believed that I was a total square and have never been opposed to the use of anything absolutely essential to the telling of the story. It did not offend me in the slightest that you had Patton talking as Patton talked. In fact, before going, I gave the Skipper [his son, Ron, Jr.] quite a lecture on the man and the history surrounding him, and then told him that he would be hearing this kind of language which didn't make it right for him or me to use, but that this was a part of the man and his character. Therefore, we sat through the movie and I had no embarrassment whatsoever about the language. It definitely belonged."

You can make of that what you will. Frankly, the discussion of what does and does not belong in a film for a Christian viewer is another topic for another time, but from my vantage point, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't see "Gran Torino" for fear of hearing a few foul words.