Gran Torino

Not being a big western fan, and being a bit too young to have watched all the old Clint Eastwood films, my bench mark for Gran Torino was Million Dollar Baby - which set the bar high from the outset. I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. Gran Torino made me laugh out loud, not due to slapstick humour but because of Eastwood's excellent portrayal of a grumpy old man who's seen too much and just wants to be left in peace. His character grabs you from the beginning, as we all know that cantankerous old man who's never satisfied with anything, grumbles all the time, and is so set in his prejudiced ways thanks to years of loyal service in several wars that you can't change them.

Eastwood plays a recent widower with an ungrateful family, who lives in a run down gang ridden area. After a family of Vietnamese move in next door, and the youngest son tries to steal his car as a gang initiation task, Eastwood goes on a one man mission to stand up to the local youths plaguing the neighbourhood he's lived in most his life.

This film is by no means happy, fluffy or light. The storyline is shocking in parts, and you feel sorry not only for the petrified family next door, but for Eastwood himself, living with a family who only call when they want something and tormented by past deeds in Korea. But the brief moments of kind acts and bonding between Eastwood and the people he inititally hated is heart warming. An excellent film, and safe to say Client Eastwood hasn't lost his cinematic touch.