Clint : the suspicious squint , granite composure and bad-ass attitude . Is Eastwood important ? If you have grown up with this enduring American icon , there 's no question about it . Apparently Nick Schenk 's screenplay was n't written specifically for him , but after seeing the film it 's impossible to imagine it with anyone else . Eastwood 's Walt Kowalski is a Korean War veteran and retired auto worker , a grumpy old man and the last white guy holding on to his property in an inner-city neighborhood that 's been taken over by Asian-Americans . The movie opens at his wife 's funeral . -LRB- How many times have we seen Eastwood with a wife on screen ? Not too often . -RRB- Walt 's not happy , of course , but more than anything , he seems pissed off . His kids are a sore disappointment . The grandkids merit nothing more than a growl . At the wake , even the priest , Father Janovich -LRB- freckle-faced Christopher Carley -RRB- , is quickly shown the door . Walt is alone now , and he means to keep it that way . He
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- You may have noticed : Clint Eastwood has become respectable in his old age . `` Gran Torino , '' says Tom Charity , is all about Clint Eastwood . And that 's a great thing . To judge by the release pattern and some of the more reverent reviews , you would think the 78-year-old director 's second movie of the season -LRB- after `` Changeling '' -RRB- was another prestige picture with Oscar firmly in its sights , along the lines of `` Million Dollar Baby '' or `` Letters from Iwo Jima . '' Nominations may be forthcoming , or they may not -LRB- we 'll find out January 22 -RRB- , but trust me , `` Gran Torino '' is not that kind of animal . It 's a crude but pungent stab at popular filmmaking , blue-collar and bare-knuckle . Which is not to say it 's disappointing . On the contrary , it 's an entertaining star vehicle that does its job well . Other films around right now tackle `` important '' themes -- the Holocaust , justice , alienation -- but `` Gran Torino '' is all about