Life was so good back in school.. Always had plenty of time to watch movies and read books. Now, on most days, I have just about enough time to catch some sleep. Just about.
But, my cleverness and ingenuity led me to a solution – I started watching movies in episodes! Isn't the idea brilliant? J (my ineffectual attempt at sarcasm duly noted, I hope). Anyway, I saw Burn After Reading over a 2-week period, and the comedy didn't flag. I saw Slumdog Millionaire over a similar span of time, but that was because I found it too boring for one sitting. Speaking of Slumdog, I don't know how many people were shocked or pleasantly surprised that it won an Oscar, but I certainly was. And I set out to provide a basis for my incredulity by watching the other popular movies of the year. I'm done with The Reader and Vicky Christina Barcelona, and I must admit that Slumdog is much better. But more on that later…
One director whose work I've seen with some interest over the years is Clint Eastwood. The manner in which he's reinvented himself from a trigger-happy Westerner to a storyteller with other plot-lines up his sleeve has been worth watching. Although I cannot claim to be an expert in his direction style, etc – having watched only 4 movies directed by him; I can pinpoint sufficient differences between his previous movies and his latest slate to be convinced of the metamorphosis.
I saw Changeling a few months ago, and Gran Torino in the past few weeks, and both of them were exceedingly good movies. There's something about the manner in which this 70-year old geezer projects his stories, that forces you to accept every time-worn cliché he throws at you, with equanimity. In both these movies (and previous ones), there have been enough and more instances when any movie-watcher worth his salt would be able to guess the next dialogue or plot twist. But the way Mr. Eastwood tells it, or the way he grunts his dialogues, you decide to give it to him.
Gran Torino is a great movie, period. The clichés are present in full force, true. But the most important juncture, the plot towards the finale, wasn't entirely expected. In fact, it was a particularly apt example of the transition that Mr. Eastwood has been through. Without descending in to spoilers, let me just say that watching the last 15-20 minutes of Gran Torino and Unforgiven in quick succession, one wouldn't fail to appreciate the key differences.
No need for a movie review here, those are abundantly available. But yes, both movies are must-sees, from a master storyteller. Dirty Harry has made a clean break.
