Clint is cool. We all know that.
Clint makes good movies. We all know that too.
Clint has a voice so gravelly, seagulls flock from miles around thinking it’s the sound of ocean waves on a shale beach. We all know that as well.
What we may not have known, however, is that Clint can do a stunning turn as a crotchety old racist, embittered by painful memories of the Korean War, living in a world he no longer truly understands.
The plot: Clint plays the described grouchy old bigot, Walt Kowalski, the last white resident in an all ethnic neighbourhood.
Walt's next door neighbours are Hmong, South East Asians from the mountainous areas of Vietnam, Loas and China and Walt is none too keen on their presence. His mood is not improved when an argument between Thao, the young son next door, and a local gang spills over onto his property, forcing him to draw a gun. Next thing he knows, the Hmong's, through culture, are bringing him gift after gift in gratitude for his bravery and, reluctantly, he takes Thao on as a worker in penance.
Though loathe to admit it, Walt's iciness thaws and, after escalating violence from the gang members towards the Hmong family, he resolves that the only way to improve their lives is to get rid of the gang once and for all.
Laced with biting social commentary and acerbic wit, this is both deeply moving and charged with pointed analysis of modern society.
Clint is simply fantastic as the grizzled old bastard with the classic car fetish, and the storyline builds to a compelling and touchingly inevitable crescendo.
Can't recommend this enough.
5 out of 5
"Get off my lawn!"
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