A Couple Clint Eastwood Movies

Clint Eastwood directed two movies that were released last year. One was a huge hit and the other was a huge bomb. I caught up with both of them recently.

Gran Torino
This was the huge hit. Eastwood plays an aging racist who comes to befriend the Korean neighbors next door, in particular the son who tried to steal his car. Ultimately the movie plays out fairly well, but I wasn't overwhelmed. Part of the problem is with the Eastwood character. He seems a little over the top in his racist rants and there's a strange scene where him and a barber are teaching the Korean kid all about racist dialogue. I just didn't buy into the fact the Eastwood character was really like this, didn't seem very realistic (was this "Dirty Harry" in retirement?). So, while it does build up to a pretty good ending and there's an interesting priest character, I just didn't like the movie as much as I thought I would.

Changeling
This was the huge bomb, and to me, the far better movie of the two. In fact, very, very good. It tells a true story that seems almost to "out there" to be true, but it is. I checked on a lot of the facts and Eastwood pretty much told it straight. It's set in 1920's Los Angeles where Angelina Jolie, a single mom, has a 7-year old son that goes missing. The cops aren't too eager to help find him, but suddenly do . . .only Jolie insists who they found is not her son (he's not). How the cops respond to her is more of the story that I won't divulge. Suffice it to say that women questioning the cops in 1920's Los Angeles was not looked on too favorably.

While that part of the story I knew going in, there was a subplot that I was not expecting, and it plays a critical role in the movie. There is another villain that enters the story that may or may not be part of the whole mystery of what happened to Jolie's son. It's another true story that seems too far-fetched (and horrifying) to be true, but it is.

I highly recommend this movie, but parents be forewarned. Do not under any circumstances let your kids watch this. There are a couple scenes that to me were downright horrifying. At one point towards the end, I almost stopped watching it, and I don't usually have that strong of a reaction. But being the father of a 7-year old son, you'll know why when you see it. Yes, the movie is very well made, and not explicit, but what is implied is more than enough.