When I sat down to watch The Grey, I was not certain what I should expect. Based on the trailers, my impression was of a slick-looking but insubstantial thriller in which Liam Neeson was going to fight a wolf with his fists. But what I got far exceeded my expectations. The Grey is a brutal, uncompromising thriller with a great cast, and is well worth seeing.
The Grey is directed by Joe Carnahan, and, meaning no disrespect to the man, his being at the helm was probably a factor in why I wasn’t expecting a film with much depth. The only previous film of his I had seen was The A-Team (2010), which I had enjoyed as a ridiculous summer popcorn movie. I’m happy to say that I was wrong to doubt Mr. Carnahan’s directorial chops. The fact that he was able to do a good job with two such different films shows me he’s not a director who can only make variations on a single theme. Carnahan strikes me as rather like Tony Scott, in that he seems to be able to take any story within the action or thriller genre and make a solid film of it, and I hope he has a similarly long and successful career. His success here also gives me more motivation to go back and see his previous films Narc (2002) and Smokin’ Aces (2006).
As I mentioned before, the cast is easily the biggest strength of the film. Liam Neeson is one of my favorite actors, and he’s a joy to watch in The Grey, as usual. Apart from Ottway, none of the characters are given much in the way of back story, but the actors do an excellent job with what they’re given. I liked the characters and enjoyed watching them, which gives what happens added weight. I also appreciated the fact that the antagonism between the men lessened pretty quickly, rather than being used as an artificial way to increase the drama. In fact, the character who I’d pegged as being the group’s resident ass turned out to be a fairly decent guy. And without getting into spoiler territory, a scene late in the film where Ottway looks at his colleagues’ wallet photos was very effective and moving. With no dialogue at all, we are shown how the men had lives and families, instead of just being ciphers only there to get killed off. This is something we hardly ever see in this genre, which made it even more impactful.
Although I know full well that real wolves rarely attack humans that fact does not in any way make them a bad choice for a killer animal film. I haven’t been this scared by dogs since John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). The film even offers some explanations why the wolves are so aggressive. The wolves themselves are depicted through a combination of practical and computer effects, and apart from a couple of brief close-ups, the animals are very convincing.
Liam Neeson in “The Grey.” Photo by Kimberley French – © 2012 – Open Road Films.
I can only think of a few negatives about the film, but they’re definitely worth mentioning. While I liked the cast and direction of the film, the actual storyline is extremely simple; once the survivors set out from the crash site, the movie is pretty much just them traveling through the wilderness and getting picked off one by one. The fact that this isn’t an extreme detriment to the film is proof of the talent of the people involved. If I had a real issue with anything, it was with Ottway’s recurring flashback about his wife. While I understand what the filmmakers were going for, this element still seemed somewhat out of place.
It may be a familiar story, but it’s a familiar story told by skilled filmmakers and a great cast. Even if what you’ve seen in the trailers and ads turned you off, you should still consider giving the film a chance. If you don’t mind the violence and the unrelentingly bleak tone, The Grey is an excellent little thriller that deserves to be seen.
Timothy Monforton