Clint. No last name is necessary. The 6’2” icon is coming to a screen very near you which just happens to be large one in the Westport Library’s McManus Room on June 23 at 7:00. Our venue is perfect for showing the actor/director’s latest work, Gran Torino. In this movie, he portrays Walt Kowalski, a retired auto worker who doesn’t have a good word for anyone and harbors unspoken resentments and reactions to his time spent fighting in the Korean War. He is drawn into the life of a Hmong immigrant teen being pressured into joining a gang. As a right of passage, the young man tries to steal Walt’s classic car, a Gran Torino.
Some library borrowers have told me that they borrow Clint Eastwood movies for the men in their life. I understand perfectly, so do I! But, Gran Torino is a movie that all can find meaningful and entertaining. As the Los Angeles Time noted in their review, “Things that would be old-school and sentimental in other hands morph into something different when he (Eastwood) is involved.” The reviewer goes on to note, "Eastwood has, with his impeccable directing style and acting presence, turned Gran Torino into another in his ongoing series of films that ponder violence, its place and its cost. It combines sentiment and shootouts, the serious and the studio, in a way that has become distinctly Eastwood's own.”
So, make my day. Join other fans for the showing of this film later this month. This is a new addition to our schedule. See you on June 23rd.
