Gran Torino

I watched this film while flying back from holiday in the US about a month ago, and I’ve been meaning to give it a plug for a while, so here it is.

Amongst my sociological friends, admiting to a liking for Clint Eastwood films might just lead to the odd raised eyebrow or two. Why? Well, checking through Eastwood’s back catalogue you’ll see he has a penchant for playing gun-toting vigilantes and ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ cops like Harry Callahan of the ‘Dirty Harry’ movies.

But in Gran Torino Eastwood plays an ageing ex-car plant worker and Korean War veteran who finds that some immigrant neighbours bring out the best in him – despite his initial disinclination to offer ‘foreigners’ the hand of friendship.

There’s an interesting - no, it’s better than that - a fascinating, portrait of blue-collar, rust-belt American life; it’s a tough, masculine culture, and a society where everyone is expected to bear some rugged leg-pulling over their ethnicity with good humour. Is that racist? Well, that’s something you can mull over for yourself. There’s a great scene where Eastwood’s character tries to teach his young protégé how to talk like a man and it all goes completely wrong – a lesson in ethnography for us all. The film raises a wealth of questions about ethnicity and ethnic identity, crime and masculinity. Sadly, the eponymous hero – the car, of course – doesn’t feature quite as much as perhaps it should. But even I, a car philistine, have to admit – it’s a pretty cool looking car.

I won’t spoil the ending, except to say that those worried about a vigilante style ending may be pleasantly surprised. That said, you might well be justified in finding it just slightly ironic that yet again in liberal America, it’s the white people who come running to rescue the victims of racism.