Why do we always feel like we have to play cop / mediator to all these critics who feelings resemble 13-year-olds. Reactions are very mixed on” Gran Torino” and ageism is definitely coming into play. It’s almost gotten a little ugly too.
The younger crowd is essentially saying anyone in the tank for this one is old, musty like your grandmas sweater and out of touch. The older crowd not really helping their case seems to identify greatly with Clint Eastwood’s bitter and marginalized character in the film.
Jeffrey Wells, a sharp, 50-something critic who’s as combative in his opinions as the 20-somethings has been beating the drum LOUDLY and collecting all the critics who are for Eastwood and the film, he feels that strongly about it. There’s been a lot of pissing debate about it this last week, but we didn’t really have time to parse and track it all. It currently sits at a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, btw.
So, we hate to break it to you all vehemently against or for the film, but “Gran Torino” is neither that bad or that great. Its a decent-to-good film for sure and it off-color racist, old man humor is actually quite entertaining and even charming, but its not without its flaws.
The supporting cast for one is the films biggest Achilles heel. The Hmong kids that Eastwood eventually befriends and even adopts in his weird way are wonderfully written (especially the brassy, wry and endearing Sue played by Ahney Her), but neither kid can really sell their role let alone stand in the same shadow of Eastwood. This is a big problem for the overall, do-I-buy-it? factor of the film.
Another crucial priest role in the film is wasted on a too-young of an actor who practically blows all his deliveries and isn’t remotely convincing a a priest (Christopher Carley), a nubile one just out of seminary school or otherwise. Eastwood is left to his devices to scowl, growl and bitch about everything. His unapologetically sour dick of a character is as exactly written on the page so Eastwood is at the very least lauded for that. But Academy Award worthy? Whoa, slow down, he’s good, but its not like you’re going to flip for his performance.
Directorially speaking, Eastwood is a master craftsman and like “Changeling,” he’s never heavy handed and handles most beats and emotions with grace. But we can’t help but wonder if sometimes his approach is too clinically clean.
We didn’t really feel much or as much as we’d hope by some of the bigger, meatier scenes in the film. The beginning, the comedy, the sparring with the boy (Bee Vang)- their relationship- is all a winner, but the emotional scenes that are supposed to resound near the end? Maybe not so much and maybe perhaps it’s all shot and told in a too matter-of-fact manner. Some more sentimental notes sans the schmaltz would have really helped push it over the edge so one might have strong feelings about it one way or another. If you want more synopsis, our thorough script-review is here. And like we said earlier in a brief review, Eastwood nails the script for better or worse.
There’s a lot of Oscar talk for Eastwood growing which is unfortunate cause he’s not that particularly stellar (he’s fine, but c’mon this is the Oscars), but it could happen for purely political reason (god, this is when we loathe the Oscars).”Gran Torino” is enjoyable, but it’s not Eastwood pièce de résistance or anything. [B]
