The Grey

Directed by Joe Carnahan, ‘The Grey’ is a 2011 survival thriller starring Liam Neeson as John Ottway, a legendary wildlife sharpshooter hired to protect oil drillers from wildlife hazards in Alaska. Coming together is a group of oil workers Ottway along with who have survived a catastrophic plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness and must face extreme weather conditions along with attacks from a pack of territorial grey wolves. ​

Summary

When a plane ferrying oil workers back to civilization post an Alaskan oil extraction breaks down, John assumes a leadership role attempt suicide after compulsive thoughts of is he tries standing over a personal loss from which he has. Stranded in a frozen plane, slightly broken and with no scope of rescue on sight, Ottway tries breaking away from the crippling frigid environment whilst managing the internal threats emerging out of wolf attacks which serve as a constant survival threat. As they attempt to make their way to potential rescue, Ottway and his team are forced to confront external and internal obstacles that serve as life threatening. ​

Description of Other Characters

• John Ottway (Liam Neeson): A wildlife shooter that heads out for an oil drilling expedition single handedly faces his inner ailment of depression to emerge as a leader whom the rest of the crew depends on.
• John Diaz (Frank Grillo): He is a hot-headed member of the group who has a confrontational relationship with Ottway challenging his leadership, but exhibits depth in character as the story unfolds.
• Jerome Talget (Dermot Mulroney): A calm and self-reflective person whose emotional center is the daughter he hopes to reunite with, providing essential cohesion within the group.
• Pete Hendrick (Dallas Roberts): An anchored pragmatic survivor who is rational and supports Ottway’s plans helping to maintain peace within the group.
• Todd Flannery (Joe Anderson): A younger, inexperienced more timid member who depicts the fear of the unknown that the group collectively suffers from.
• Jackson Burke (Nonso Anozie): An individual who has great strength, yet is quiet and very much in tune with the circumstance at hand, struggling with the atmosphere of desperate times along with his comrades.
• Luke Lewenden (James Badge Dale): Another oil worker whose life serves as a brutal reminder of the harshness of nature.

Themes and Style

This film, ‘the Grey’ pulls on many heavy themes, survival, the primal side of humanity, dealing with death and searching for reasons to exist all portray the grief lone individuals. The philosophical contemplation is juxtaposed with the violent nature of neck wrenching action sequences that the film delivers. The windows framed with ice cold wolf’s heads is a great visual representation of a battle between man and nature, civilization and wilderness.

Critical Reception

The movie had a generally positive reception, noted for the philosophical aspects surrounding it in addition to Liam Neeson’s performance.

Roger Ebert scored the film 3.5 stars out of 4, praising its imagery and commentary on survival and the existential questions that stem from it.

Trailer

To catch a glimpse of the spine chilling story told in “The Grey,” the official trailer can be found below:

Conclusion

In consideration of human resilience battling nature’s unforgiving lashes, “The Grey” profoundly dissects the subject matter. The film is a fusion of action and philosophy which sculpts a thoughtful commentary on life and death and the raw instincts that arise when one is met with hardship. The stirring performance of begins with Liam Neeson, but does not stop there.