The Grey

If you’ve ever seen an interview or watched one of the extras on a DVD involving Joe Carnahan you’ll know he’s a man’s man. He doesn’t suffer fools easily and it’s pretty much his way or no way. It’s not much of a surprise then that his career, whilst not going off the rails, has been somewhat of a letdown since 2002’s blistering Narc. First up was the OK, but severely OTT Smokin’ Aces, then leaving MI:3 over the old “creative differences” (the most unsurprising incident in Hollywood in the last few years IMHO) before giving us the severely average A Team a couple of years ago. He hasn’t sat around though as quickly following Hannibal & Co is his new film, The Grey. Perhaps realising he needs to reign his usual high velocity tendencies in this film is low on smartass dialogue, only has about half his usual cuts and is, at times, fairly slow. However, it is cold, brutal, thought provoking and at various points, highly thrilling. Liam Neeson stars as Ottway, an employee of an oil drilling team in Alaska, who survives (along with a few others) a plane crash in the frozen wilds of said State. As if making it out alive of that wasn’t difficult enough, the (all male) group seen realise that they are miles from no-where with bitter conditions to survive along with the added dilemma of trying to avoid becoming dinner of the local wolves. Neeson is great here and it’s interesting to note that he stepped in to replace Bradley Cooper. It’s easy with hindsight of course, but it’s hard to see how Ottawa’s character could have worked as a younger man. Carnahan’s film isn’t just about survival, but it’s also a study of certain men who have been there and done that. They’re not grizzled veterans, but they’re all given the time to assess what they’re life is / was and could they do / have done more? Ottway himself sees visions of his wife as the film goes on, encouraging him to keep going. Will she be there for him at the end? A nice side-step in the story later on explains all. I always insist that a film should only be seen (or at least seen first) at the cinema and this is no exception. The reason how this specifically relates to The Grey is in the sound. Find yourself the best surround sound screen you can and take it all in. The crunching of the plane crash, the screeching winds, the howling and pining of the wolves all juxtaposed with the sudden moments of serene silence and blissful peace. It’s an assault on the senses and highly effective. If you’re looking for negatives then the ambiguous ending is somewhat spoiled by a post credits scene (for christsake people stop doing that) and the CGI wolves look pretty poor every now and then. Carnahan’s direction though is sharp virtually all the way through and this is certainly a case (somewhat unbelievably after the out-there A-Team) of less is more. The wolves are kept off the screen for a lot of the time, the plane crash sudden and excellently shot from Neeson’s perspective only (as it would be in reality) and the deaths are left more to the imagination than giving us blood-thirsty gore. Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers screenplay is fairly by the numbers, but it scores in the sense of the emotions felt by the group, helped no end by the fleshed out characters. Being forced into a group dynamic in such trying conditions means different reactions from different people. Some freak out, others keep a cool head. Some want to look after themselves, others believe in the group dynamic. It’s all pretty sensationalist in terms of the film, but it’s rooted in basic truth. The question Carnahan asks you is which one would you be? It’s thought provoking stuff.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
More drama than thriller, but who would have thought Carnahan had a philosophical edge? Enjoyable all round. Rating: 8/10.