The trailers had me expecting a unbelievable survival thriller in which a pack of wolves throws down with the survivors of a plane crash. It turned out to be something much more than that. My wife and I turned and looked at each other as the end credits started roll. We were stunned. The movie was a deep psychological piece that explored the thoughts and actions of men who were staring death in the face. The wolves were less than characters than were the introspections of the survivors.
The film, as most works of fiction, required you to suspend your disbelief of some of the elements of the situation and the choices the survivors made. They could have sat in the wreckage and waited to die, but that would have made for a very boring film. Instead we got a film from Joe Carnahan and Liam Neeson, a film that stuns.
The animatronic wolves looked less than realistic, but offset that with beautiful scenery and very artful shots. I don't know if the director of photography or the Carnahan is responsible for those shots, but some of them really stood out in their quality. The wolves became the stimulus that forced the survivors into a cohesive group. The survivors each had a story to tell. The telling of those stories is "The Grey." I had thought the title referred to the wolves. It did not. I am still musing on what it references, but it was not the wolves.
I don't remember if Neeson received an Oscar nomination for The Grey, but his performance deserved one. His character is incredibly complex and he adds depth to every scene of the film.
Watch the movie all the way through the end credits. There is a significant shot at their end.
The film, as most works of fiction, required you to suspend your disbelief of some of the elements of the situation and the choices the survivors made. They could have sat in the wreckage and waited to die, but that would have made for a very boring film. Instead we got a film from Joe Carnahan and Liam Neeson, a film that stuns.
The animatronic wolves looked less than realistic, but offset that with beautiful scenery and very artful shots. I don't know if the director of photography or the Carnahan is responsible for those shots, but some of them really stood out in their quality. The wolves became the stimulus that forced the survivors into a cohesive group. The survivors each had a story to tell. The telling of those stories is "The Grey." I had thought the title referred to the wolves. It did not. I am still musing on what it references, but it was not the wolves.
I don't remember if Neeson received an Oscar nomination for The Grey, but his performance deserved one. His character is incredibly complex and he adds depth to every scene of the film.
Watch the movie all the way through the end credits. There is a significant shot at their end.