When death does occur, it's visually striking, jaw-dropping and/or thought-provoking as compared to standard efforts at the genre that involve only jump-scare deaths or death by character stupidity. Carnahan, however, slows down that pace so that we can absorb the extent of the danger and imagine ourselves in it. When looked at in its most fundamental form, "The Grey" could be considered just another film in which a group of imperiled people die one at a time en route to finding safety. Most of the early indicators in the film give you the sense that Neeson will do his usual solemn-faced hero routine that he executes to perfection, but the way the film unfolds (not in terms of plot, but in terms of the quality of the storytelling) asks him to go beyond that. He's far from a boy scout, however, and he's emotionally wounded by the past as evidenced by visions of his wife. Paid to protect oil workers from nature's dangers (especially wolves), Neeson's character Ottway turns out to be a group of drillers' best chance for survival when their plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness near a wolf den. Neeson leads the pack in all manner of ways. Writer/director Joe Carnahan ("The A-Team") has turned a new leaf in this harrowing wilderness survival thriller, a film as dedicated to exploring the true extent of the human will to live as much as shocking its audience with menacing wolf attacks. I know, the calendar clearly reads January, but that's a matter of maximizing box-office potential in this case. But that's not "The Grey." "The Grey" earns marks far above decent, and Neeson's performance makes it better. Neeson has somehow re-channeled the seriousness he brought to dramatic roles into creating utterly convincing heroes in decent (at best) thrillers. How unbelievable that at nearly 60 years old, an actor can redefine his career and become more bankable. "The Grey" is not for the faint of heart or those looking for cheap thrills - but it is an unusually brave and beautiful exposition of an unpopular and depressing philosophical view of life. One of the few films that will be remembered in future decades in what has been a especially weak year. The circling and relentless wolves - the beautiful yet cold and uncaring Siberian landscape - the different attitudes of the participants to the pointless struggle yet heroic effort which no one will ever know about - succinct, powerful and poignant. That's what the film was about - not an action picture - not a scientifically accurate portrayal of wolves but an allegory - a metaphor about the existential view of life. Life is nasty - it is a struggle without meaning except for the struggle itself and the nobility in having done that well regardless of the end result. This is a really depressing and disturbing film - almost certainly a bust at the box office but "The Grey" is really really good - an existentialist parable - in wolves clothing. In the end, death is black and life is white, we all end up in the grey at some point. But as far as I can tell, they already died when the plane crashed, them walking through the frozen wastelands of Alaska and getting picked off by the pack led by the black alpha wolf was them moving on one by one from purgatory as they slightly understood one another and what they've dealt with in their lives. About how poorly they showed how wolves act and the logic behind nature. You can talk about how unrealistic it is. I always cry until my eyes dry out at the last few minutes of this misunderstood movie. That scene tears a hole in my heart every time I see it. His life then flashes before his eyes with the unforgettable poem. This is where you realize why he's been contemplating suicide and how the world around him has become so cold. By the end, you see his wife's dying on a hospital bed, her last words to him were "don't be afraid", telling him to be strong. Many fail to realize that this movie is an allegory for the struggles we face as we live our lives, and how every time something comes to challenge you between death and life you have to fight back and be strong. It's not about seeing Liam Neeson wrestle to the death with an alpha wolf in the freezing snow. This movie is not about Action, it's not about watching half a dozen men battle it out with a pack of wolves.
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