Talk about aging well… Clint Eastwood has directed on average a film a year this decade, and there’s no sign of stopping. And he has managed to pick up the occasional award on his way. This week sees the release of the trailer for his latest film, Gran Torino, which is due out December 17th.
At a first glance, this film seems a whole lot more appealing than the dull, drab tired story that Changeling seems to be (I mean police corruption, lost children and their desperate mothers, and unfair mental institutions have been done to death in cinema already. Clint must be too busy making movies to watch any of the dozens that cover those issues). For one, it stars Clint himself as a craggy old bastard at odds with his family and even the local wet-behind-the-ears priest. Already it feels more honest than Jolie wailing away with a glimmer of an Oscar in her eyes.
However, there’s somethign potentially subious about the premise. This old war vet bemoans the inclusion of “Chinese” into his neighbourhood, only to unwillingly intervene in some Asian gang terrorising. He bonds with the honest Hmong family and plans to stop the gang that’s hassling them. A simple idea, but does it suggest that Asians, or even immigrants, into the USA are weak and pathetic, and need the help of a good ol’ hard-as-nails white American to save them? The trailer does suggest so. Nevertheless, it looks a lot more engaging than Clint’s last few films, and may get audiences debating as to whether it’s an honest look at inter-racial tensions in the Land of the Free, or whether it’s just Dirty Harry Takes on the Asians.
