Gran Torino (2009), Warner Bros Cert:15
Dir. Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Geraldine Hughes.
Widowed Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a man whom his extreme racial views are born from his experiences of the Korean War. The world around him is changing. His neighbourhood is now a melting pot of cultures, in particular the Hmong residents to which Walt has a particular distaste. He holds dear however his 1972 Gran Torino, and it is his precious car that his young and innocent Hmong neighbour Thoa (Vang) is sent to steal by his vicious ringleader cousin as part of his initiation into the gang. Thoa is unsuccessful and is punished by doing a stint manual labour for Walt. Thoa is put through his paces and over time Walt and his Hmong neighbours grow close. Thoa though is persistently hounded by the gang, and things begin to spiral out of control as the whole family becomes a target. Walt takes matters into his own hands, confronting the gang on their own patch. The closing scenes are the most poignant in displaying Walt’s “get off my lawn” mentality, simply because he defends the “lawn” of those he once hated.
Gran Torino sees Eastwood at his finest, with Walt echoing the gruff voice and strong presence of the emblematic “Dirty Harry”. Although accompanied by a poor supporting cast in terms of screen presence this is somehow forgotten as Eastwood, star and director, tackles the huge problem of racial attitudes with simple story telling. It isn’t however explicitly about race, but instead an elderly man coping with a changing world. The story then changes gear to something more than Walt the racist and intolerant old man but instead a story about respect and acceptance. It is simply a perfectly told story that is thought provoking and realistic; showing exactly why Clint Eastwood to this day dominates both on and off screen.
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen (2009), The Film Department Cert:18
Dir: F. Gary Gray
Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney
Clyde Shelton (Butler) becomes the target of a horrific crime in which 2 men break into his home, savagely killing his wife and daughter. The killers are caught and Assistant DA Nick Rice (Foxx) is assigned to the case, but is ordered by the DA that he must strike a deal with one of the killers, meaning the other will face the death penalty. Clyde tries his best to stop the deal but Nick agrees and one killer is sentenced to death whilst the other - ironically the man whom actually killed Clyde’s wife and daughter – is given only 10 years. Clyde is an intelligent inventor and so plots, waiting with baited breath until the killer is released. Clyde extracts revenge of the most shocking kind, but it goes further than simple vengeance. Utterly dismayed by the justice system that seen his family’s killer allowed to walk the streets, he himself is arrested to become part of it and uses his incarceration to send a major message to officials. Clyde’s warnings become reality as he picks off, from his prison cell, all those who were involved in his case. It becomes personal as the attacks get closer to Nick, meaning he must stop Clyde getting to his own family before it’s too late.
At times you could be forgiven for thinking it was a horror rather than a thriller, as Gray depicts intensely graphic gun shot wounds and acts of what could only be considered as torture. You are quickly launched into the plot as his family are murdered in the opening moments and so leaves you thinking now what? But this is quickly answered in narrative exploding into a high octane police chases, executions and gore in only the opening moments. Gerard Butler pushes the mean and angry killer eyes but lacks in that edge of insanity to which his action display, making it hard to buy into the idea of the “grieving parents and husband”. Jamie Foxx equally underwhelms as the plot requires a no holds barred cop but is given an “all talk lawyer” style character, with the only display of wit in the closing moments. The film is gripping no doubt but lacks terms of the actors being mediocre in comparison to the plot. The Butler Foxx partnership works as good versus bad, but lacks that level of chemistry that would take the film to the next level.
Dir: F. Gary Gray
Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Colm Meaney
Clyde Shelton (Butler) becomes the target of a horrific crime in which 2 men break into his home, savagely killing his wife and daughter. The killers are caught and Assistant DA Nick Rice (Foxx) is assigned to the case, but is ordered by the DA that he must strike a deal with one of the killers, meaning the other will face the death penalty. Clyde tries his best to stop the deal but Nick agrees and one killer is sentenced to death whilst the other - ironically the man whom actually killed Clyde’s wife and daughter – is given only 10 years. Clyde is an intelligent inventor and so plots, waiting with baited breath until the killer is released. Clyde extracts revenge of the most shocking kind, but it goes further than simple vengeance. Utterly dismayed by the justice system that seen his family’s killer allowed to walk the streets, he himself is arrested to become part of it and uses his incarceration to send a major message to officials. Clyde’s warnings become reality as he picks off, from his prison cell, all those who were involved in his case. It becomes personal as the attacks get closer to Nick, meaning he must stop Clyde getting to his own family before it’s too late.
At times you could be forgiven for thinking it was a horror rather than a thriller, as Gray depicts intensely graphic gun shot wounds and acts of what could only be considered as torture. You are quickly launched into the plot as his family are murdered in the opening moments and so leaves you thinking now what? But this is quickly answered in narrative exploding into a high octane police chases, executions and gore in only the opening moments. Gerard Butler pushes the mean and angry killer eyes but lacks in that edge of insanity to which his action display, making it hard to buy into the idea of the “grieving parents and husband”. Jamie Foxx equally underwhelms as the plot requires a no holds barred cop but is given an “all talk lawyer” style character, with the only display of wit in the closing moments. The film is gripping no doubt but lacks terms of the actors being mediocre in comparison to the plot. The Butler Foxx partnership works as good versus bad, but lacks that level of chemistry that would take the film to the next level.
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