Wednesday 18 March 2009

Gran Torino...

What's to say really? Clint's an absolute legend (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is in my Top 10 of All Time), and this is quite possibly going to be his last on-screen performance - and a blinder of a final bow it is too. Not only is it a case of superb acting, but he manages to make an unreformed, emotionally disconnected, casual racist a hero you can cheer for, and it's a master class is grimacing/scowling/growling.

In fact at times, the film becomes quite funny - the stunningly creative and endless procession of casual slurs Clint's character reels off are chuckle-inducing. Not to the extent of agreement (far from it), but it's just the sheer conviction and most of all, the delivery. One particular rapid-fire slur-laden rant had the audience chortling in shock - again, nobody was agreeing with such sentiments, it was the delivery and the 'creativity' of the insults that were slung which left a large impression, and the audience wide-eyed.

But this is glossing over the gripping plot, the gripping clash of cultures, and the over all joy of seeing Clint tearing up the screen with his sheer power - like I said before, the dude's a total legend. This all said, it's certainly not an action fest (nor was it intended to be), but when Clint's aiming his M1 Garand at a gang-banger and growling at him to "get off my lawn", you can't help but grin like a child in a sweet shop. Legend. He's what, 78 now? But I'm damn sure he could kick my ass, and many other asses to boot - he just exudes sheer, raw power. A real man from a time when men were proper men ... there's not a lot of that these days, but we'll at least have his cinematic legacy as something for men the world over to idolise and even aspire to.

Ultimately, the film is a bittersweet journey (as headed-up earlier in the film when death is summed up as a bittersweet event) - and indeed, this is what you feel come the end credits. You get the bitter, but you also get the sweet - and it's a long-lasting impression.

If this is indeed Clint's last on-screen outing, he certainly went out on top.

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