THE GREY (2012)

(Directed by Joe Carnahan)

"The title makes less sense when you think about it, but great movie all the same!"- Signed by MartialHorror. 

 

Plot: An oil drilling team returning home from Alaska must survive and fight off a pack of hungry wolves when their plane crashes in the middle of nowhere.

Review:

Liam Neeson has always been a respectable actor, but when “Taken” turned out to be a surprise hit, it turned him into a proper leading man. It wasn't a great movie, but Liam was great and we were drawn to both him and his film because it was all about watching him be awesome. This even carried on to the glaringly mediocre “Unknown”, which had a twist you could figure out just from watching the trailers. Once again, he was so cool that people went to see that movie and at least deem it tolerable. I was glad that he opted to do something like “The Grey” because I was worried that the films where he's the main protagonist were becoming redundant (“Unknown” did feel like a cash in on “Taken”). Now that I've seen the movie, not only has he made something 'different', he's made an exceptional- if imperfect- film that's both stunning and frustrating. It's stunning for the right reasons though and frustrating for the wrong reasons. I'm not sure my biggest complaint is 'fair', so please keep that in mind. But fair or not, “The Grey” is a VERY effective movie.

Ottway (Liam Neeson) is a psychologically wounded, depressed hunter whose job is to protect Oil Drillers from Wolves somewhere in Alaska. He contemplates suicide, but the sound of wolves howling stops him from going through with it. Soon after, he and the rest of the base are returning home via plane. Because this is a movie, it crashes for mysterious reasons and Ottway wakes up to see that he is one of eight survivors of the wreck. They are in the middle of nowhere and help seems unlikely. Not only do they have to survive the weather, starvation and the occasional bout of insanity, they must also fight off a pack of ferocious and hungry wolves.

 

“The Grey” is a nice marriage between conventional and unconventional, a popcorn movie and an art-house movie. On one hand, the film is bold, daring and even shocking. On the other hand, you generally can guess what's going to happen. Generally, being “Hollywood”-ish is considered a bad thing and in most ways, it is. If there was one Hollywood-ish subplot that I felt was overdone, it was the flashbacks with the wife. I'm not saying they should've cut that out, I'm saying they should've cut that down. Beyond occasionally mucking up the pacing, the way it was lit, shot and edited is very cliched and sort of corny. However, sometimes being Hollywood-ish is a good thing, as the film is mainly about the group surviving against a bunch of wolves. I honestly figured that the wolves would be a side issue, but they're really the main conflict that the protagonists have to deal with. Other movies would've opted for a slower paced film about surviving the general elements. The exploiting of the wolves might be conventional, but it also made the film more exciting for someone with shallow tastes like me. You might watch this, however, and consider it a dumbed down version of other survival films. To each his own, I guess.

The first thing the film does right is that it puts us IN the movie. We experience what the characters experience and this is not an easy thing to pull off. The plane crash, for example, is shot entirely within the plane. We see what they see and somehow, I felt like I was feeling what they felt. Panic rose in and when they find themselves stranded, I felt their frustrations, their hunger, their responses to the cold and their fear of the wolves. A great movie is a movie that almost ceases being a movie, but instead becomes an experience. But not every feeling is of unease and fear. The scene where Ottway is going through everyone's wallets and we see pictures of them with their loved ones was very moving. It was a very heart wrenching scene and you feel the scale of the tragedy suddenly hit home. In short, everything this movie wanted me to feel, I felt. That there alone means the film is a success.

 

The film is generally just very well made. The locations and weather problems feel real (because they are) and the cinematography is gorgeous. Gorgeous, but in a more unsettling kind of way. I'm a sucker for movies being pretty for the sake of being pretty, but “The Grey” combines its beauty with sheer dread. I like Joe Carnahan's directing skills in general. I enjoyed “The A-Team” a lot and even liked “Smokin Aces” on some levels, but this is his best work. Some of the framing is just outstanding, such as when we first see the wolves (or more specifically, their eyes). The wolves aren't GGI (either the real deal or animatronics are used), but some CGI is used to enhance them and it makes them look more frightening. The director does a great job at making you fear them and sometimes it's not the visuals that creep us out. There is one scene that relies almost completely on audio, and it's even MORE chilling because of it.

 

Finally, we've come to the characters and how well the actors play them. At first, I struggled when it came to telling who was who. The first few deaths had no impact on me for that reason. But as the movie went on, I began to decipher the differences between the characters and was even able to understand who they were or why they were doing whatever they were doing. They aren't always likable, but they did grow on me and I felt it when they died. The actors play their roles effectively and Liam Neeson was born to play roles like this. He's one of the few actors who can play- for lack of a better word- action protagonists while being a great actor. The man is compelling and showcases many different emotions throughout the movie. But you always believe he's a badass and that makes his journey more effective. Speaking of journey, that's what this movie really is. It's Ottway coming to terms with himself as he fights off hungry wolves. The script has much more substance than the norm, but it never really feels like it's catering to the Academy. I hate it when movies try to hard to be award winners, so “The Grey” being effective like this without doing so is a revelation.

Then we have the ending...That...ending.

I have to admit that I left the theaters rather pissed off. I was furious with the ending and even more furious that I waited through the whole damn credits just for one extra, super ambiguous shot. It's no more necessary than the post-credits shot from “Buried”, but this time I couldn't use a fast forward button. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was not angry with “The Grey” for its ending. I was actually irritated with its marketing campaign. The trailers really emphasize one thing, clearly using that to grab our attention, but the film cuts away and refuses to show it. Had the trailers not been so shameless, I likely would've appreciated the ending much more. It is still moving, but it's more build up than pay-off. But the trailers pretty much robbed its impact from me, so I'm not sure if I can call this a criticism of the film or the films marketing.

 

“The Grey” has some faults, but they are either small or debatable. It can also be argued as too conventional for the art-house buffs who would rather have a movie with people staring at each other, walking for long periods of time and....whatever art-house buffs want instead of men fighting wolves. At the same time, popcorn viewers (like my Dad, who saw it with me) might find the film too slow and arty for the popcorn crowd. As someone who can appreciate both depending on my mood, I found “The Grey” to have the right amount balance. I thought it to be smart and moving, but also enjoyable and exciting. If “The Grey” isn't a great movie, then I think it's at least a very good film.

Violence: Rated R. It's pretty vicious at times.

Nudity: None, although there is some sex oriented dialogue.

Overall: I'd strongly recommend “The Grey" to pretty much everyone.

 

3.5/4 Stars