Eastwood's 'Gran Torino' touches on race issues in America
The credits of "Gran Torino" claim that Clint Eastwood plays a character named Walt Kowalski. This is not quite accurate. Clint Eastwood plays Clint Eastwood, and he's really good at it. At the tender age of 78, Eastwood's status as the reigning badass of American cinema remains relatively unchallenged (Jack Nicholson runs a distant second). And how could this be? With his taut, wizened features stretched tight over a perpetual grimace, Eastwood bears less resemblance to a human being than to something carved from a very old piece of wood. Throw in the voice -- which has coarsened with age from a throaty whisper into a low, snarling rumble Â-- and the effect falls somewhere between self-parodic and terrifying. More »
