The Grey Movie Review

I love wilderness survival movies. Until I saw this movie, my two favorites were the Anthony Hopkins movie “The Edge” and the unlikely movie “Frozen”. It’s been some time since I’ve seen one that has engaged me as intimately as this movie.

It opens with an impressive and atmospheric wide shot of a mountain range, covered in snow. Dark grey clouds hang oppressively over the peaks while fog or mist rolls in. A wolf howls ominously in the background, foreshadowing future events.

John Ottman (Liam Neeson) works as a rifleman for a very remote oil refinery deep in the Alaskan wilderness; he protects the oil crew roughnecks from roving wolfs or wolf packs. The movie gets rolling when the crew boards a plane bound for Anchorage. It crashes before it gets there.

We now have seven survivors, lost in the middle of the wilderness. Back at the refinery, these men were a collection of ex-cons, drifters and miscreants. They don’t put much faith in a rescue effort, instead thinking that the company would be happy to have a surplus in the payroll. The screaming wind and driving snow serve as a reminder that without the very basics, this group will inevitably die. To complicate matters, they quickly find out that they are being stalked by a territorial pack of wolves.

It is a brutal struggle for survival against the most primal elements; exposure, altitude sickness, wolf bite, falling from dizzying heights and drowning. It plays to the most primeval instincts within all of us. The sense of isolation and hopelessness is prevalent throughout, highlighted by the far away shots of the men trudging through deep snow, bent against the whistling wind and sideways snow. The progress looks pitiful scaled against the backdrop of the never ending white landscape. They are outnumbered by the wolves that are used to the elements and only need to wait. The sense of dread grows as we realize that with every new obstacle, the chances of survival get slimmer. Hope comes in the form of the pilot’s watch that has a GPS locator. Once activated it should point the rescuers to their exact location.

Ottman, we find is an Alpha man who plays against the Alpha wolf. He guides the group on survival right from the crash. He prioritizes what needs to be done and gets started on making it happen. He also keeps his cool in EVERY situation, whether it’s helping one of the group accept that he’s dying, or gathering the jet fuel to ensure they have fire once they leave the wreckage. Ottman is as cool as Arnie in the Terminator. Who survives a fall out of an airplane only to fight the freezing cold and a snarling pack of wolves?

This movie is just as much a story about human nature as it is about survival. Before the survivors leave the wreckage, they gather as many wallets as they can to take back to the loved ones of the dead. The wallet (or “billfold” in American) becomes a powerful symbol of life. It is a collection of memories and loving families. It is the essence of a man’s core values.

There is a bonding moment around the campfire one night, a chance for the men to explain their back story. It’s a touching human moment where we forget that they’re fighting for their lives; it could be just a bunch of guys on a camping trip. It’s the only point in the movie that eases off the tension.

“The Wolf” serves as a metaphor for both life and death for Ottman. It was the wolfs’ howl that stopped him from committing suicide earlier in the movie and now serves to cement his resolve to live.
Strip away societal norms, labels and rules. Who do we become? What do we do to survive?

Joe Carnahan does a superb job of immersing us in the relentless, hostile environment. The situation feels utterly helpless. The cinematography is breathtaking (filmed in Vancouver say the credits) and the wide long shots of the mountains serve as a reminder of the frailty of the human condition.

The soundtrack feels deliberately disjointed, putting us on edge. The use of strings is very powerful as well. Ask anyone who’s watched “Psycho”.

Simply put, this is a moving and haunting tale of survival and redemption. It’s about a group of misfits coming to terms with what they really believe in and who they really are. The characters are believeable and the narrative takes its time to develop them properly. It’s gritty, violent, dramatic and compelling. You must see this movie.

Oh, one last thing. Don’t leave the theatre before the end of the credits. There’s more after. Although the film is just as complete without it.

8.5/10