The Grey
The Grey
Following a grueling five-week shift at an Alaskan oil refinery, workers led by sharpshooter John Ottway are flying home for a much-needed vacation. But a brutal storm causes their plane to crash in the frozen wilderness, and only eight men, including Ottway, survive. As they trek southward toward civilization and safety, Ottway and his companions must battle mortal injuries, the icy elements, and a pack of hungry wolves.
匚卂尺ㄥ reviewedFebruary 3, 2025
Seven men led by suicidal John Ottway (Neeson) try to survive in the Alaskan wilderness after their plane crashes. A wilderness of extreme weather and hungry grey wolves...
A lot of people didn't get the film they were expecting when they trundled into the theatres to see The Grey. With a shifty advertising campaign suggesting it was an action adventure movie, one where fisticuffs with wolves was a draw card. What resides in Carnahan's movie is however very different from those expectations, for The Grey is a deep movie, a profound movie in fact, one of mythical leanings, strong in philosophical outlooks and spiritualisation, a meditation on grief as well. That it is also an excellent survival thriller is a bonus, so make no bones about it, the film deserved the $50 million profit it made; even if a lot of those original ticket buyers were kind of duped into the theatre admission!
Undeniably the film packs a big emotional punch, you have to expect that to some degree, because only the most virginal of film fan wouldn't be expecting deaths in this type of film. But there is a strong affinity to the group dynamic here that really pulls the mature viewer in to the fold. Early on you think it's standard stuff, one of the guys is a macho a-hole, one of them is cowardly etc etc, but with each passage in the story the mood and characterisations change. Introspective analysis comes into play, conversations spin to a higher level, and with Carnahan smartly able to make us feel their isolation, their terror, their conflicts and will to survive; even if that will simply will not suffice, it's very much a picture that gets under your skin and into your brain for all the right reasons.
Led by a powerhouse and intense Neeson performance (who better to have on your side in such circumstances?), with Mulroney also excellent, film is perfectly photographed by Takayanagi on location in British Columbia. His photography at times does blend beauty and terror, but mostly it keeps it harsh in colour tones as the cold bites hard and the peril of the journey unfolds. The ending undoubtedly will infuriate many, in the same way as it has proved divisive with those who have already seen it (for the record I love it, think it's perfect, even in conjunction with the ambiguous end of credits mini-coda), while some of the Wolf effects are at times iffy. But all told, this is one of the unsung treasures of 2012, a film of unexpected depth and boasting a myriad of cinematic pleasures. 9/10