A Brunch Film Review: The Grey

The Grey (Click on the title of this blog to see the trailer)

Starring Liam Neeson
Directed by Joe Carnahan

Liam Neeson plays a man named Ottway, who, we learn very early on, is both sad and hard. The Grey only dimly reveals who Ottway actually is, and is content to divulge, in its own time, the source of Ottway's deep sadness. What we know early is enough. We gather he was once a sniper, who now defends oil workers from the potential hazards of Alaskan wildlife.

It seems like revealing too much here would be a mistake. If you have seen the preview you know enough. Ottway and a small crew of oil workers attempt to leave for much needed R & R and their plane experiences a catastrophic failure and crashes some where in the Alaskan wilderness at some elevation.

One could make the case that the people who died in the crash, were the lucky ones. Winter in the Alaskan range, with few supplies, miles (who can know how many) from any help does not make for an inviting prospect. Alaska is is also haunted by the last remnants of the North America's megafauna, wolves, three species of bear, and in southern Alaska, puma can be found. For the survivors of the crash, though, it is wolves that form the hammer to winter's anvil. The survivors will have to survive both dangers if they are to live.

Ottway is not a survivor specialist. He knows more than the oil workers, and his confidence is such that the others follow him toward the tree line, away from the open wind, and the open hunting ground. It will be up to the viewer to decide if the men made the right choice. Ottway does his best, as do the men who follow them. Let the synopsis stand there, and I will leave the unfolding story to the viewer. There are surprises to be sure, and the questions the film poses are better discovered than revealed by a reviewer who wants to tell you their own clever answers.

The Grey works because directer Joe Carnahan isn't interested in tickling the viewers expectations. To watch the trailer is to expect an adventure similar to David Mammett's delightful movie The Edge. Carnahan gives the viewer real people, with real ideas, who find themselves confronted with the likelihood of their imminent and unpleasant demise. Death isn't somewhere off in the distance for Ottway and the oil workers who follow him. It is literally around every tree and may come in the night. The Grey gets those men, operating at the very edge of their capabilities, full of hopes and dreams (most of them) absolutely right, and it makes film's inexorable journey feel like an honest exercise in fiction.

Does the film correctly describe wolf biology? It is hard to say. Wolves are apex predators. Hungry, or feeling intruded upon any animal can be dangerous, even ones that generally aren't known for aggression towards humans.

The Grey 10/10