alanmcaras

This is a marvelous film, and lays bare some of the ugliness all around us. Even an avenger is not pure. But it's less than Clint's best work. He kept improving his perspective on us, and triumphed in Gran Torino. There are several clues as to his jaundiced and incomplete understanding of righting wrongs. People touched by god, do divine work, they do not rape and or seduce vulnerable women. Maybe he is and maybe he's not an avenging angel returned to earth. Personally, I think he need not to have spoken to Mordecai as he leaves town. Plus the women he raped and seduced are unrealistically compliant / forgiving. That Clint has fortunately disappeared from his subsequent films. William Munny was a more perfect avenger for women in his award winning film "Unforgiven". In Gran Torino Walt Kowalski is the paradigm of avengers.

I've seen this movie at least ten times. I watch it whenever I stumble across it scheduled on a cable channel. I think it is the best movie Kevin Costner has ever made. I would not call myself a big Kevin Costner fan. I think he too often over reaches. This movie however he nailed. Duval is positively superb. I do not recall Duval ever bad, well except maybe his brief turn in To Kill a Mockingbird. I am not enough of a movie buff to be able attribute his performance in this film to Costner's direction or Duval's feel for the character. I cannot recall Costner ever playing a role as subtlety as he does in this. I think he understood this character and was willing to share the screen with his costars. I give MS Benning huge props for playing this film without apparent makeup. All credit to Costner for the mood of this movie never wavering. The cinematography was excellent.