Gran finale

Feb 25 2009 Pierce Hunt, Surrey Herald

Gran Torino (15)

Clint Eastwood directs, produces and stars in his final acting swansong as Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski.

His Michigan neighbourhood has fallen foul to years of neglect and its immigrant population has boomed, leaving the incredibly patriotic Walt as the only remaining original resident.

Eastwood's character is an amalgamation of several of his most memorable roles from Dirty Harry to Heartbreak Ridge. And Walt Kowalski isn't about to hitch a ride on the political correctness band wagon - far from it.

His bitterness and resentment of others is relentless. He shows utter contempt for his materialistic offspring and grandchildren. And now left alone, after his wife's passing, Walt spends his days sipping beer on his front porch, watching the world go by.

Unsurprisingly, from the film's title, Walt's pride and joy is his 1972 Gran Torino - the car he worked on during his fifty-year stint on the production line at Ford - and when an intruder attempts to foolishly steal it from under his nose, Walt dishes out his own justice.

Later that week, Walt's South-east Asian neighbours (all played by amateurs, not professional actors) are involved in a ruckus with a gang who are trying to recruit the youngest male of the house, Thao (Bee Vang) - the boy who tried to steal his Gran Torino.

But as soon the rabble sets foot on Walt's lawn, he's there staring down the barrel of his gun, demanding that they get off his property.

This is the catalyst for the unlikely bonding between Walt and the immigrant contingency in the area, but it's the uncharacteristic kindness he shows Thao - almost adopting him as a surrogate son and helping him secure a job in construction - which brings Walt out of his reclusive state.

He may have lost faith in the church, his family and society as a whole, but Walt finds himself drawn to his neighbours as he begins to realise he shares a lot more in common with them than anyone else.

At the ripe old age of 79, Eastwood has been an iconic figure on the big screen for more than half a century. His delivery is spot-on, and even though he comes across as incredibly crass at times, you do gradually warm to him, even if his outdated ways of thinking turn the air blue.

The gun-toting maverick may have long passed his glory days, but if Gran Torino does prove to be Eastwood's last outing on screen, then it's a fitting send-off.

8/10