The Grey - Movie Review
Oct. 2nd, 2012 12:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
philosoraptor42The Grey (2011)
Why the pretentious quote? Well it turns out that "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson is actually an existential thriller rather than a survivalist action movie. It made me think of the quote above, so I'm just going to leave Dostoyevsky's words floating there for you to interpret as you will.
"The Grey" had some odd marketing. It made it out to be sort of a "Taken"-style action movie only set in an arctic wasteland. Once again with Liam Neeson as the badass protagonist fighting against deadly enemies with his passion for a loved one keeping him going. While in "Taken" he's fighting terrorists to save his daughter, in "The Grey" he's fighting wolves while remembering his dead wife.
Now that's not entirely misleading. Liam Neeson definitely does come up against wolves, he's still kind of a badass and, as much as the trailer had me groaning, his memories of his dead wife do play an important part. However, this is not really an action movie. As exciting as some parts might be and while there's some fending off wolves involved, the characters are mainly just running from the wolves. What's more, while some have criticised the film for an unrealistic depiction of wolves, it isn't really wolves that the characters are facing at all. It's death. (Yes, this is "Liam Neeson Vs DEATH". Interested now?)
The essential storyline is this. Liam Neeson is working on some out of the way site. The men there are drilling for oil, but we later discover that Neeson's own role on the site (or at least one of his roles) was to keep wolves at bay. We see him kill one towards the beginning of the film. Neeson explains to us in voiceover that the people on this site are mostly scumbags and ex-cons, because the level of pay along with the kind of work and the obscure remote location is generally only going to appeal to people who are running away from a dark past. At this early stage in the film it seems that Neeson's character is suicidal, considering turning the rifle on himself.
Turns out that that a large group of workers are all going home, presumably having finished their stint at the refinery. Neeson wakes up, however, to discover that the plane is making a crash landing. Afterwards he awakes again to find himself buried in snow, with the plane in pieces. He uncovers himself and stumbles around to find survivors. Seemingly having contemplated death quite a bit, he guides a dying man though the process of, well, dying. This is the point where the central concept behind the movie is being spelled out. Neeson tells the dying man to focus on a loved one and imagine them guiding them into death. Of course, Neeson's own loved one is his dead wife. The question remains what is more important: Surviving at any cost? Or accepting death? And at this point we are introduced to the clear embodiment of death in the film: the wolves.
The wolves are shown as formidable 'monsters' essentially. If anyone remembers the glowing teeth of the aliens in "Attack The Block", the wolves here have a similar effect. The wolves' eyes are depicted as glowing in the dark and the way the characters are stalked makes them feel scared and hopeless. The question arises whether it is even worth trying to escape the wrath of the wolves, but on the other hand there is the inescapable desire to survive.
We are told that the reason the wolves are attacking them is because the plane has crashed in the wolves' territory. This territory spans many miles, so it's decided that their best chance of survival is to keep moving. We're told very matter-of-factly that the chances of being found in this arctic wasteland is minimal, so they must either get out of the wolves' territory or expect to be picked off one by one with little hope of rescue. Thankfully I don't know enough about plane crash rescue in the arctic or the hunting patterns of wolves to be too worried by this. Basically this is the premise, just like "the world is a computer program" or "the plant drinks human blood" or "the dead are coming back to life" in other major films. Once you've accepted this part the rest of the film follows from here.
The Grey is actually beautifully filmed. I was surprised to find this was the director of the "A-Team" movie working on this (which I admittedly haven't seen, asides from the ridiculous Orange adverts connected to it), but it's also from the director of Narc which used some similar techniques, only with nothing like the same quality material to work with. The CG used to create the wolves is impeccable, while the snowy vistas look absolutely gorgeous.
Another thing I really appreciated about "The Grey" was the characters. While there are a fair few to keep track on initially (and I struggled to work out which of those previously alive on the plane were amongst the survivors after the crash), the characters are built up well. There's some good dialogue between them as they handle the prospect of deatfh-by-wolf and while this might not be an action movie, it could hardly be called slow-paced.
"The Grey" is an absolutely remarkable surprise. I had absolutely no idea that I would view this as one of the best films of the year, possibly even challenging my current favourite "Cabin In The Woods" for the title. It's an incredibly emotional and existential experience, balancing the instinct for survival with the inevitability of death. The ending will either make you go "wow!" or "what the hell?" (or possibly both). The latter reaction is all the more likely if you went in expecting an action movie, particularly if you saw the trailer. I actually DID see the trailer, so I kind of had both reactions, but "wow" is the reaction that stuck with me.
A+
P.S. Don't forget to check out the short extra bit just after the credits. Doesn't really add much, but it's always annoying to find these things out AFTER you return the rental DVD, y'know?
“Where is it I've read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that he'd only room to stand, and the ocean, everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting tempest around him, if he had to remain standing on a square yard of space all his life, a thousand years, eternity, it were better to live so than to die at once! Only to live, to live and live! Life, whatever it may be!…"
- Rodion Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Why the pretentious quote? Well it turns out that "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson is actually an existential thriller rather than a survivalist action movie. It made me think of the quote above, so I'm just going to leave Dostoyevsky's words floating there for you to interpret as you will.
"The Grey" had some odd marketing. It made it out to be sort of a "Taken"-style action movie only set in an arctic wasteland. Once again with Liam Neeson as the badass protagonist fighting against deadly enemies with his passion for a loved one keeping him going. While in "Taken" he's fighting terrorists to save his daughter, in "The Grey" he's fighting wolves while remembering his dead wife.
Now that's not entirely misleading. Liam Neeson definitely does come up against wolves, he's still kind of a badass and, as much as the trailer had me groaning, his memories of his dead wife do play an important part. However, this is not really an action movie. As exciting as some parts might be and while there's some fending off wolves involved, the characters are mainly just running from the wolves. What's more, while some have criticised the film for an unrealistic depiction of wolves, it isn't really wolves that the characters are facing at all. It's death. (Yes, this is "Liam Neeson Vs DEATH". Interested now?)
The essential storyline is this. Liam Neeson is working on some out of the way site. The men there are drilling for oil, but we later discover that Neeson's own role on the site (or at least one of his roles) was to keep wolves at bay. We see him kill one towards the beginning of the film. Neeson explains to us in voiceover that the people on this site are mostly scumbags and ex-cons, because the level of pay along with the kind of work and the obscure remote location is generally only going to appeal to people who are running away from a dark past. At this early stage in the film it seems that Neeson's character is suicidal, considering turning the rifle on himself.
Turns out that that a large group of workers are all going home, presumably having finished their stint at the refinery. Neeson wakes up, however, to discover that the plane is making a crash landing. Afterwards he awakes again to find himself buried in snow, with the plane in pieces. He uncovers himself and stumbles around to find survivors. Seemingly having contemplated death quite a bit, he guides a dying man though the process of, well, dying. This is the point where the central concept behind the movie is being spelled out. Neeson tells the dying man to focus on a loved one and imagine them guiding them into death. Of course, Neeson's own loved one is his dead wife. The question remains what is more important: Surviving at any cost? Or accepting death? And at this point we are introduced to the clear embodiment of death in the film: the wolves.
The wolves are shown as formidable 'monsters' essentially. If anyone remembers the glowing teeth of the aliens in "Attack The Block", the wolves here have a similar effect. The wolves' eyes are depicted as glowing in the dark and the way the characters are stalked makes them feel scared and hopeless. The question arises whether it is even worth trying to escape the wrath of the wolves, but on the other hand there is the inescapable desire to survive.
We are told that the reason the wolves are attacking them is because the plane has crashed in the wolves' territory. This territory spans many miles, so it's decided that their best chance of survival is to keep moving. We're told very matter-of-factly that the chances of being found in this arctic wasteland is minimal, so they must either get out of the wolves' territory or expect to be picked off one by one with little hope of rescue. Thankfully I don't know enough about plane crash rescue in the arctic or the hunting patterns of wolves to be too worried by this. Basically this is the premise, just like "the world is a computer program" or "the plant drinks human blood" or "the dead are coming back to life" in other major films. Once you've accepted this part the rest of the film follows from here.
The Grey is actually beautifully filmed. I was surprised to find this was the director of the "A-Team" movie working on this (which I admittedly haven't seen, asides from the ridiculous Orange adverts connected to it), but it's also from the director of Narc which used some similar techniques, only with nothing like the same quality material to work with. The CG used to create the wolves is impeccable, while the snowy vistas look absolutely gorgeous.
Another thing I really appreciated about "The Grey" was the characters. While there are a fair few to keep track on initially (and I struggled to work out which of those previously alive on the plane were amongst the survivors after the crash), the characters are built up well. There's some good dialogue between them as they handle the prospect of deatfh-by-wolf and while this might not be an action movie, it could hardly be called slow-paced.
"The Grey" is an absolutely remarkable surprise. I had absolutely no idea that I would view this as one of the best films of the year, possibly even challenging my current favourite "Cabin In The Woods" for the title. It's an incredibly emotional and existential experience, balancing the instinct for survival with the inevitability of death. The ending will either make you go "wow!" or "what the hell?" (or possibly both). The latter reaction is all the more likely if you went in expecting an action movie, particularly if you saw the trailer. I actually DID see the trailer, so I kind of had both reactions, but "wow" is the reaction that stuck with me.
A+
P.S. Don't forget to check out the short extra bit just after the credits. Doesn't really add much, but it's always annoying to find these things out AFTER you return the rental DVD, y'know?
