Why Fiction Matters: Gran Torino

Disclaimer:Gran Torino is not a Faith Based Movie

This morning I finally saw Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. It's one of those (actually all) Clint Eastwood Directed films that leave you speechless long after the credits have rolled. What I like best is Eastwood always chooses simple scripts with much depth. This time he chose debut screenwriter Nick Schenk, who wrote the script at a bar at night.

However, why I am writing about this script here is because of a constant discussion I have had with my writing friends about character develoment. What it means, why it's important, how to build a compelling story that gives a glimpse of a major turning point in the life of universal character. Gran Torino does that. Granted the minor characters (Walt's family) seem one dimensional, the characters that counted were fleshed out as far as they needed to be for this story.

Moreso, there is a spiritual takeaway in this story if you look through the racial slurs and juvenile misbehavior.Life's value isn't based on what we do, the titles we have, our social status, the money in the bank, even being parents...Life's value is based on the good impact you made on the relationships God placed in your presence between birth and death. I tell you. I sat in my room speechless and thinking about how can I be better.

Good writing--not always, but often--should convict us to want to be what God intended. Don't you think?

Dee