Movie Review: The Grey

“In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders.”

Genre : Thriller, Drama

Director : Joe Carnahan

Writers : Joe Carnaan based on Ian MacKenzie Jeffers

Cast : Liam Neeson

Man against nature, man against man, man against himself and man against faith and God have all individually been the conflicting bases for many films exploring the human condition. The Grey explores all of these tried and true thematic elements, but exploring these subject matters whilst fending off a pack of tenacious wolves amidst the snowy Alaskan mountains puts a refreshing twist on an archetypical narrative.

The Grey is a film with a simple premise, but at its heart it is a complex study of a man and his inner struggle to find his place in the world. A surviving group of Alaskan oil drillers endeavor for their lives against bone freezing blizzards and a ferocious pack of merciless wolves that hunt them and it all converges in Ottway (Liam Neeson). Ottway is a man on the edge, a man at a turning point of his life. Does he give in to his inner demons or does he go once more into the fray, into the greatest fight he will ever know? Like all of us, Ottway has a choice, but it may not be until we are pushed to our physical and emotional limits that we truly discover what we are looking for in life. The Grey is Ottway’s journey of trial and severe tribulation to discover what it is that puts purpose to his life again.

Repeatedly, The Grey presents us with the same question in different ways. Why do we live? What are we living for? What is our purpose? Screenwriter and director Joe Carnahan and screenwriter Ian Mackenzie Jeffers (who wrote the short story, “Ghost Walker”, on which the film is based) have done a commendable job of blending an action film with a more meditative character study. The film noticeably leans more on action and tension than on the contemplative musings of the struggles of man, but it does not suffer greatly from it. More than two or three scenes of men fending off wolves or running away from wolves will occur before we get a sometimes, rushed expository scene telling us a brief amount of character detail before being quickly followed with another wolf attack. In the context of an inevitable wolf assault at any moment, these sparse character moments are believable and if not for the stalwart performance given by Liam Neeson, the film would not have been nearly as enjoyable and the pacing would have suffered for it. The Grey has a strong supporting cast including Dermont Muroney, Dallas Roberts and Frank Grillo. But Neeson’s multilayered performance of Ottway is the focal point of this film. Neeson skillfully presents a broken man; a man struggling with loss and longing, while simultaneously being the strength and determination for the group of ragged survivors. More is conveyed in Neeson’s eyes than dialogue can say.

For The Grey, Joe Carnahan has pulled back from his more stylized and over the top approach to filmmaking, which he displayed in Smokin’ Aces and The A-Team. Instead he delivers a more grounded film that is peppered with wonderful, dreamlike, flashback moments that boldly transition from dream to reality. These creative, surreal moments give us glimpses as to what is internally taking place in the mind of Neeson’s character. The Grey is a distinctly different film from Carnahan and is by far my favorite of his to date. It leaves me excited to watch another film that draws on the strengths of Neeson as a middle-aged, action hero. Neeson gives more emotional depth to a character than many actors today.

Which brings me to a question. Is The Grey an action film or not? Surely it has plenty of action and action is inevitable, given the scenario of stranded men being pursued by territorial wolves. But it is ultimately a drama about the lengths to which men will go to in order to survive and thereby discover who they truly are. Individual viewers may be split on this opinion, but the heart of The Grey is that of a dramatic character study.

As I have stated, The Grey is a sparingly written story that focuses more on action than straightforward, character development and in that it feels unique. Saying that it’s sparingly written is not a negative, but it does make for a lean film that left me wanting a little more character growth for the supporting characters. As it is we generally know little about Ottway’s companions before they are snatched away by a wolf. A little more development for the supporting cast would have given more meaning to their sudden, often savage deaths, but it also would have made for a slower, longer film.

Despite the lack of supporting characters’ exposition, more than a few moments of these survivors’ hardships brought me to tears and, again, I say it all comes together in the character of Ottway. His journey is one of personal discovery, of fighting the greatest fight he will ever know. Does he succeed? That is the question and the reason why you should watch this film. The Grey succeeds in blending an action film with a character study and the stand out performance by Liam Neeson makes this a unique, archetypical, story of self-discovery. I recommend you give it a watch.