GRAN TORINO (15, 115 mins)
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Brian Haley, Brian Howe, Christopher Carley, Doua Moua
Directed by Clint Eastwood

IN WHAT reportedly will be his final appearance in front of a camera, Clint Eastwood delivers a tour-de-force performance as a xenophobic war veteran in this timely, Humanist drama.

While the rest of America looks to conflicts raging overseas, the veteran actor and director picks his thematic battles much closer to home.

In particular, he examines the clashes of ideals in predominantly white, blue-collar neighbourhoods, where the ethnic and cultural make- up has been irrevocably altered by the influx of immigrants.

This volatile mix of old and new, east and west, explodes with devastating consequences in Gran Torino, a powerful tale of modern day vigilantism based on a script by Nick Schenk.

At the emotional heart of the story is Walt Kowalski (Eastwood), a man haunted by his experiences in the Korean War and consumed by grief over the death of his beloved wife.

He is a man of few words, none of them kind, who harbours resentment towards everyone around him, including his two sons, Mitch (Haley) and Steve (Howe).

The old coot has no interest in the sermons of local priest Father Janovich (Carley), and even less time for the Asian next-door neighbours he labels "swamp rats".

When Hmong Spider (Moua) and his four-strong posse scrap with neighbour’s son Thao (Vang) on his lawn, Walt intervenes with his rifle.

Spider and Co flee the scene and Thao’s older sister Sue (Her) shows her gratitude by strengthening ties between the two households.

Against the odds, Walt finds himself warming to his neighbours and he takes Thao under his wing, encouraging the lad to become the man of his house.

However, Spider and his gang have Walt and his protegé in their sights, and the only language they understand begins with the pull of a trigger.