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Clint Eastwood plays a racist war vet in his newest film, “Gran Torino.”

“Gran Torino” is the new film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, and it is allegedly his last starring role.

Eastwood plays an aging Korean war veteran living on the last untouched lawn in what used to be a sprawling suburban neighborhood, but which is now overrun by poor immigrants and gang violence.

Eastwood’s character is unabashedly, openly racist, and uses racial slurs freely throughout the film. However, underneath the prejudice, there is some genuine heart to the film-which speaks of the soldier’s redemption. 

It’s a sweet movie, ultimately, about Eastwood’s character coming to grips with the fact that he may care for his immigrant next door neighbors much more than his own family,  even if the neighbor kid did try and steal his titular 1976 Gran Torino as a gang initiation. 

Eastwood takes the child under his wing and has the kid do chores around the house to teach him life lessons.
The real problem with this movie is that most audiences will have a hard time finding a comfortable place from which to view the movie. On one end, if you’re too sensitive, the language will turn your ears red. That is to say, if you are easily offended by certain words, this film will probably offend you.

The trick is that so few people are going to land in that desired middle ground, the place where Eastwood apparently wants to have this discussion.

Whether the discussion is appropriate or worth having is up to the viewers ultimately, but the film, like the overwhelming majority of Eastwood’s work, is directed and acted with skill and grace.