Clint Eastwood is giving up acting after this movie - that alone is reason to watch Gran Torino! Saw it last evening - solid, good movie. I watched 'In the Valley of Elah' on HBO and Gran Torino over a weekend - both seemed to have a similar underlying lesson/moral/takeaway.
At the age of 76, Clint Eastwood wrote and directed TWO movies in 2008! Given that my movie following (obsessing) only started after I came to the US..in the last 10 years..I have not really seen Clint Eastwood's earlier works, but I have been extremely impressed with his works of late. His recent movies are dark, painfully tragic, and have dry humor and great acting. I don't know how much more creativity we will be fortunate to see from this man. I didn't realize he even composed the music for some of his films (he sings the credits song in Gran Torino). People say this all the time, but this is the 1st time I have felt like his loss (whenever it happens) will truly be a creative loss for our generation. But until then, I will try to soak up every bit of creativity that this man throws out on the screen..
He has 2 Oscars for direction, but none for acting - I found that hard to believe. Sadly, he may end his acting career without an Oscar, given Sean Pean and Mickey Rourke's acting performances this year.
I read somewhere that Mr. Eastwood has matched his movies to the country's moods - when defiance of the law of the land and the establishment was in vogue, he gave us the gun-slinging Westerns and movies like Dirty Harry where he takes the law in his own hands; when the country now seeks more regulation and order, he responds with movies where he submits to the laws and rules of the land. Good parallel, but might be giving him too much credit to say he intended it! :-)
His snarling in the movie is a bit over-the-top, but the movie has powerful lines, subtle humor, few lessons for life, and excellent acting by Mr. Eastwood and his teenage friends who live next door. Good watch!
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