The Grey - Movie Review

Rating: 3 out of 5

The story (by cowriter Jeffers) this film is based on was clearly inspired by Jack London's famously bleak short story To Build a Fire, pitting a man against the elements in the harsh, snowy Arctic wilderness. It's a very well-made film, but not very easy to engage with.

Ottway (Neeson) works as a wolf-sniper for a petrol company in the far reaches of Alaska, but is struggling with thoughts of suicide because he misses his wife (Openshaw) so much. Then on a flight to Anchorage, the plane is hit by a severe storm and goes down in the middle of nowhere. There are a handful of survivors, and Ottway soon becomes the leader when they are menaced by howling, growling wolves. Knowing they'd be safer in the treeline, he leads five other men from one peril to another.

It's fairly obvious early on that survival will require a miracle. If the wolves don't get them, they'll probably freeze to death. And if they survive the cold, they have cliffs, rivers and injuries to contend with. Sure enough, the plot quickly adopts a serial-killer approach, as the men fall one by one and the survivors struggle to maintain their resilience.

Yes, it's all rather grim. The scenery may be breathtakingly beautiful, but only if you have a warm cabin to view it from (and a wolf-sniper walking the perimeter). On the other hand, the plot is riddled with niggling improbabilities, the worst of which is the personal vendetta the alpha-wolf seems to have against Ottway. Not to mention the fact that we never believe these wolves are anything other than animated effects with an overwrought sound mix.

Thankfully, the actors all get fairly meaty characters to play, and even though some barely get a chance to register, they all have distinct personalities, thanks to some clever script detail and nice touches by the actors. Grillo has the most interesting role, as a tough guy forced to confront the fear he denies he has. And the film's oddly plaintive, elegiac tone also adds some interest, even if the repeated line "Live and die on this day" becomes a bit maudlin and sappy.

Facts and Figures

Year: 2012

Run time: 117 mins

In Theaters: Friday 27th January 2012

Box Office USA: $51.5M

Box Office Worldwide: $77.3M

Budget: $34M

Distributed by: Open Road Films

Production compaines: Open Road Films, Inferno Distribution, LD Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, Chambara Pictures, 1984 Private Defense Contractors

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Fresh: 149 Rotten: 40

IMDB: 6.8 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Joe Carnahan

Producer: Joe Carnahan, Jules Daly, Mickey Liddell, Ridley Scott

Screenwriter: Joe Carnahan, Ian Mackenzie Jeffers

Starring: Liam Neeson as John Ottway, Dermot Mulroney as Jerome Talget, Frank Grillo as John Diaz, Dallas Roberts as Pete Hendrick, Joe Anderson as Todd Flannery, Nonso Anozie as Jackson Burke, James Badge Dale as Luke Lewenden, Ben Bray as Hernandez (as Ben Hernandez Bray), Larissa Stadnichuk as Flight Attendant #1, James Bitonti as Ottway's Father, Jonathan Bitonti as Young Ottway, Anne Openshaw as Ottway's Wife, Peter Girges as Company Clerk, Ella Kosor as Talget's Little Girl, Jacob Blair as Cimoski, Lani Gelera as Flight Attendant

Also starring: Joe Carnahan, Mickey Liddell, Ridley Scott