Gran Torino

To see Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino last night. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a cross between Dirty Harry and Victor Meldrew, who fumes through his retirement against his grasping offspring, an over-solicitous priest and his Asian neighbours in the wake of his wife's death, only to warm to the latter and become their defenders despite his frequent racist language. His growing attachment and support to a Vietnamese teenager, Thao, and his sassy sister Sue (with brilliant performances by Bee Vang and Ahney Her) draws him into a bitter gang feud with shocking but not entirely predictable consequences. There's a great theme song sung by Jamie Cullum and the Gran Torino is Walt's beloved vintage Ford which provides an important backdrop to a movie which though not Eastwood's best is still another engaging addition to an impressive oeuvre.

The Changeling

When a movie receives mixed reviews, it is often a sign that it is a flawed film. So my expectations of Clint Eastwood's latest directorial effort The Changeling were not great before we saw it last night. The reviews were wrong to be cautious. (A notable exception being the great Philip French in the Observer, whose review is very apt). The Changeling is a triumph. With Angelina Jolie in her best role yet as Christine Collins, a distraught mother whose son disappears in 1920s Los Angeles only to have another child 'returned' to her, and John Malkovich as a crusading Presbyterian pastor, the movie is taut, dark and gripping. Despite its length at well over two hours, there is little wasted in this film: its largely true tale of police corruption, appalling mental health procedures and a mother's undimmed fight for justice is utterly compelling. Do not miss it.