Once more into the fray. Into the last good fight I’ll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day.
Initially billed as Liam Neeson hobo-fightin’ against a pack of wolves, The Grey is in fact a character piece, an existential film about man vs. nature and a survival film. If you go in expecting Taken in the frozen tundra, be prepared to be disappointed…
Haggard and depressed, Neeson’s Ottway finds work as a sniper for an oil drilling team in Alaska. Stranded after their plane crashes in the freezing plains, they find themselves at the mercy of a pack of wolves that see them as intruders in their hunting territory.
Carnahan’s The Grey is a grim but fascinating affair about the human spirit with the spectre of death ever present. What’s keeping these men going is the promise that salvation is just past the next tree line, the next ridge or round the river bend. Carnahan delves into what makes this group of people (and you assume, humanity as a whole) hopeful in unfortunate circumstances. There’s nary a bad performance in the cast featuring a few actors you’ll recognise and some you won’t. Neeson, (thankfully in an Irish accent instead of a full blown American one) leads the cast well, carrying the burden of keeping these men alive with his survival skills and knowledge of the wolves’ behaviour.
Carnahan’s script etches each character with a life that stretches beyond the frosty landscape, with regret and fear becoming the primary emotions once they realise the odds aren’t in their favour. Placing them in a harsh environment means we’re rooting for them to survive; the characterisation gives the viewer a clearer indication of why they’re so desperate to carry on.
There is one drawback to the film. The film’s budget feels a bit paltry. The plane crash is a little rough in terms of the CGI (the build-up to it is quite unnerving). The limitation of the budget is apparent any time the wolves appear on screen with Carnahan wisely not showing them in full but conveying their presence through sound design and some clever visual reveals. It suffices for the most part and the marketing certainly gives the wrong impression of the film.
Completely dissimilar to his recent spate of Euro-trash action films like Unknown and Taken, The Grey is an impressive survival drama that bucks the trend of late winter releases being disappointing (at least in the US). A pinch of salt should be taken with regards to the type of action on display but Carnahan shows some directing nous in making a heartfelt and gutsy film about the will to survive (cue rendition of Eye of the Tiger). The ending is certain to polarise audiences but like the rest of the film, it’s tough and uncompromising.
8/10
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