One of the great crimes of the week was the Academy Awards' omission of Clint Eastwood from the list of acting nominees. "Gran Torino" was arguably better than "True Grit," the ambling shaggy dog of a western that garnered John Wayne the Best Actor trophy in 1969, and Eastwood's depiction of Walt Kowalski was more nuanced and poignant than the Duke as Rooster Cogburn...my point being that Eastwood is due for a lifetime achievement award (a la Wayne, Newman for "The Color of Money," Connery in "The Untouchables"), AND he gave a great, iconic tour-de-force performance...
"Gran Torino" has too many flaws to be considered a great film. The script is clunky, and much of the acting is wooden. However, Eastwood's Kowalski is an anti-hero for the ages.
Kowalski is a stand-in for The Greatest Generation, an elderly auto worker and Korean War vet with a Vesuvian contempt for twenty-first century America. Much has been made of the racist dialogue that flows easily from Eastwood's lips throughout the film. For me though, the most significant Eastwood moment is at the movie's beginning, when his character is standing in church at his wife's funeral Mass.
Walt watches his ill-mannered, insensitive, slovenly grandchildren lumber into their grandmother's funeral service, embodying everything about modern American society that many of us loathe. Walt's facial expressions at the sight of such colossal rudeness speaks volumes on behalf of many of us.
It's not that Walt is pious. He makes it clear shortly thereafter that he has little use for religion. It's the unwillingness to exhibit just a shred of dignity, respect, and propriety at the most solemn of occasions that evokes his wrath and secession from his biological kin. It's the signature moment of the movie for me. It just goes to the heart of what's wrong with America today, and why deserve every bit of recessionary woe that's coming our way.
It is no wonder that offical Hollywood didn't get or embrace "Gran Torino." Judging by the box office grosses though, Eastwood has struck a chord.
Go see "Gran Torino."
