Engrossing movie about the changing demography of the United States both because of immigration and social & geographical mobility.
White Flight of the young leaves Clint EASTWOOD's character as the only White guy in his neighborhood. This then becomes an oblique analysis of what it is to be both American and White; positing both as quintessentially racist formations - insecure about the future.
EASTWOOD plays the curmudgeonly old racist with his customary aplomb – growling and scowling at all the most appropriate moments. The accent is on curmudgeonly here since it is impossible for him, as an actor, to convince as someone who really supports White supremacist politics. This means his fans know that this is going to be a far more life affirming tragedy than that.
The sense throughout the first half is of a White culture in decline from its own ethnic hubris being part replaced by hard working immigrants. The latter need to prove that they have earned their place within the wider economy while also having something to offer, culturally, to enrich it.
The White characters have serious generation gap type problems that are not nearly so pronounced within the Hmong minority shown here. Whites live in the past here in expecting the world to owe them a living while good, old fashioned manners fade into auld lang syne. This implies European Americans have become a cultureless people who mimic other cultures bad habits rather than develop their own. This explains why EASTWOOD's character discovers more in common with the Hmong than his own kids and grandkids.
This is a film about what Community and neighborliness really means rather than what we merely say it does. And also about what it is to be a man when surrounded by so much unmanliness in the form of a culture not coping well with multiculturalism and in decline for lack of any deep, mainstream roots and effective role models. Sin and redemption looms large in the lives of many of the male characters and propels the drama forward to its inevitable climax.
As Clint EASTWOOD gets older, his own mortality has become an enduring and major theme in his work as his characters make the most of life in order to give their death some meaning and honor. While not the best film EASTWOOD has ever made, this is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest stars Italy and Hollywood ever produced.
Hilarious in its own way with EASTWOOD clearly relishing a role that might be his last: The racist epithets fly thick and fast and are as funny as can be. Clearly, Mr EASTWOOD has no truck with the politically correct brigade and those of a nervous disposition should, perhaps, give this a miss. The style is deadpan; lacking the usual meretricious thrills that a film with a gang culture gun rivalry subplot could so easily have fallen prey to. Contrived, yes, but to make a very important point about a multiculture at a political crossroads. The playing of Ahney HER stands out as the spunky tomboy; taking to Eastwood's character like a duck to water.
Copyright © 2009 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute it in any format; provided that mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com/) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment