Guns are, and always will be, his friend.Clint Eastwood movies tend to border on the homogeneous (although the ones he has directed are diverse enough). Most are violent, with tones of nihilism (I am reminded of Mystic River) while on the other hand are those sweet, simple feel-good movies. Gran Torino leans towards the latter end, but still, expect a fair bit of bloodshed.
It is a simple movie telling a simple story. A young Asian boy and a racist White man. Sort of a Karate Kid in reverse. The latter teaches the former about life, and the former revives the latter's flagging spirits.
One thing that will strike you when you see this show is stereotypes. Yup, almost every single African-American here are gang members and a fair bit of the Asians. But ah, it's that kind of neigbourhood, after all. It's quite easy to see that almost everything is being stereotyped here (I suspect intentionally) - from gangsters to Clint Eastwood himself.
Yes, the dialogue is a bit over the top and Clint Eastwood's character borders on self-parody, but the one thing that makes this movie likable is that we get to see people finding themselves and becoming, well, a better person. Cliched themes, but somehow always an attraction. And indeed, it is Eastwood's character which carries the show.
Bittersweet would be an appropriate word to describe both the ending and the movie itself. Bitter, because we are bombarded with stereotypes and cartoonish characters; sweet because it is a movie about things we can't dislike - hope, redemption and fulfillment.
If Juno was last year's feel-good movie (as many people labeled it such), I daresay Gran Torino deserves the title for this year. Except it's better described as the anti-Juno.
It is a simple movie telling a simple story. A young Asian boy and a racist White man. Sort of a Karate Kid in reverse. The latter teaches the former about life, and the former revives the latter's flagging spirits.
One thing that will strike you when you see this show is stereotypes. Yup, almost every single African-American here are gang members and a fair bit of the Asians. But ah, it's that kind of neigbourhood, after all. It's quite easy to see that almost everything is being stereotyped here (I suspect intentionally) - from gangsters to Clint Eastwood himself.
Yes, the dialogue is a bit over the top and Clint Eastwood's character borders on self-parody, but the one thing that makes this movie likable is that we get to see people finding themselves and becoming, well, a better person. Cliched themes, but somehow always an attraction. And indeed, it is Eastwood's character which carries the show.
Bittersweet would be an appropriate word to describe both the ending and the movie itself. Bitter, because we are bombarded with stereotypes and cartoonish characters; sweet because it is a movie about things we can't dislike - hope, redemption and fulfillment.
If Juno was last year's feel-good movie (as many people labeled it such), I daresay Gran Torino deserves the title for this year. Except it's better described as the anti-Juno.
0 comments:
Post a Comment