Reviews > Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood is known for playing the classic antihero that we all love in Gran Torino he’s no different. Eastwood redefines what it is to be a grumpy old man here with his trademark Dirty Harry snarl & grunts.
Walt Kowalski is a marine veteran & retired auto worker & an unapologetic bigot. Who just lost his wife while his discontent for society grows stronger so does his alienation from a world literally becoming foreign. Walt spends his time tending his house in a Detroit suburb, drinking beers, & cleaning his most treasured posession a vintage 72 Gran Torino which he helped assemble at Ford plant where he used to work.
He’s the only white man in a neighborhood filled with Asians, Hispanics, & African-Americans. Walt hates all - he despises his own family as much as the trash as he puts it that pollute his street. One night in a twist of fate Walt catches the son of his neighbors trying to steal his cherished car. Instead of hurting the boy or calling the police Walt decides to protect him from the gang bangers that forced him into robbery. The boy in gratitude agrees to work for Walt doing odd jobs & they form an unlikely bond. The storyline is predictable the characters all too familiar but you can’t help to watch Eastwoods charisma he radiates on film & is very believable in this character.

Neal Damiano
Film Journalist