Gran Torino (Blu-ray)

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"Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while that you shouldn't have f...cked with? That's me."

At first blush "Gran Torino" may seem like a "Grumpy Old Dirty Harry." Indeed, starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, the movie's main character bears a superficial resemblance to the one in the "Dirty Harry" films, and early rumors about it implied that it was actually a story about the cop's retirement days. Nope. "Gran Torino" is far more sentimental than any Harry Callahan flick, and the main character in "Gran Torino" is far grouchier than Harry ever was, yet, remarkably, far more human.

Even more remarkable, I read recently that "Gran Torino" is the highest-grossing film Eastwood has ever made, remarkable when you consider he's done things like "The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Unforgiven," "Mystic River," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Million Dollar Baby," and "The Changeling" to name but a few in addition to the "Dirty Harry" series. I also understand that he's said "Gran Torino" would be his last film as an actor, preferring to remain behind the camera from now on. Our loss if he does quit acting.

In "Gran Torino" Eastwood plays a retired autoworker, Walt Kowalski, now pushing eighty. His wife has just died, he's got lung cancer, and he lives alone in the same neighborhood he's lived in for heaven knows how long. He and his two sons and daughters-in-law barely speak, and he has no use for modern society's newfangled ways. The main reason he's alone, though, is that the world has passed him by. He longs for the good ol' days, when people were more conservative and less racially varied. Now, he finds himself encompassed by Southeast Asians, whom he distrusts, having fought in Korea. He chooses to keep to himself and considers his neighbors barbarians.

The first half of the movie shows us Walt's macho, ill-tempered attitude and his racist, hate-filled sentiments toward the surrounding populace, much of his outlook so excessively overboard it's amusing in its exaggeration. We shudder at Walt's stupidly blind prejudice, yet we can't help laugh, too, sometimes out loud, at the outrageousness of his behavior. For any clear-thinking, open-minded person these are guilty laughs, to be sure, but laughs nevertheless.

Walt is lonely and unhappy, his only friend his barber (John Carroll Lynch), with whom he has several scenes, the second of which is among the few that fail to ring true. He might have remained alone and sad, too, if he hadn't inadvertently met his neighbors, a Hmong family, when one night the boy, Thao (Bee Vang), tries to steal his prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport. The Gran Torino represents everything Walt remembers good about the old days: It is big and bright and sleek and powerful, a symbol of America's dominance not only in the world of manufacturing but in everything else, from power to culture to civility. The idea of a "foreigner" trying to steal the car characterizes his worst fears about what has happened to his country.

Walt runs the boy off, but then something odd happens. When he finds out the boy lives next door, he decides to try to rehabilitate him when the kid's parents make him work off his debt to Walt. Then, as the old timer and the boy begin interacting, Walt finds the boy is not so different from any other kid after all, and Walt starts to take a greater interest in his well being. What's more, the boy's older sister, Sue (Ahney Her), who is in college, decides to rehabilitate Walt. She ignores his gruff exterior and invites him into her family's world. In addition, the Kowalski's family priest, Father Janovich (Christopher Carley), also takes an interest in Walt after Walt's wife dies; the priest is a young fellow, well meaning and persistent, who never gives up on the old man. I told you the story was sentimental, and the results are inevitable, with some truly sweet relationships developing.

Eastwood's well-known grimace and scowl find themselves on full display in the film, possibly to greater advantage than ever before. He becomes the embodiment of the tough guy with a heart of gold beneath the rough, weather-beaten facade. Bee Vang's boy next door is quiet and shy yet inwardly strong; we can see the potential there for a stable future. Christopher Carley's priest could have been another cliché, but he turns out to be anything but. His character proves as resilient as Eastwood's. In any case, the real standout is Ahney Her's role, the older sister. She's feisty, smart, and determined to be a friend to Walt, no matter what. It's hard not to fall in love with her charming yet firm disposition.