The Grey

Warning - Spoilers within

Death. It's all around us, all the time regardless if we're paying attention or not. It hits every so often, in the death of a loved one, or friend, or pet, and the reality of it comes full forced, but we mourn, move on and for the most part, don't let it spend much time in our thoughts. But every time it does, you can't help but think about your own death, and what it means to face it. The Grey explores just that: a hopeless situation that forces you to come face to face with the inevitable.

The film centers around Liam Neeson's character, Ottway, and a group of workers heading home after a stint in the arctic. Ottway's responsibility is to protect the others from wildlife threats. Equipped with his rifle, Ottway is an excellent marksman and knowledgeable about his surroundings. Their plane crashes, and the survivors are immediately thrown into an unimaginable situation: the dead seem to be the lucky ones, as a pack of wolves immediately begins to hunt them, and slowly but surely, starts picking them off. For some, there is hope, for others, fear overtakes them. And as they progress, a certain acceptance washes over them. There is one particularly poignent scene just after they crash that will set the tone for the rest of the movie, and the tone that the survivors must learn to accept. A man is severely injured immediately after the crash; Ottway finds him and knows there is no chance for him to survive. He asks how it looks - the standard thing to do, and looks for reassurance as others look on. But Ottway doesn't sugar-coat it, he tells the man that he's dying. Anger, shock and resentment. But then acceptance, as Ottway tells the man to remember everything that makes him happy: his family, a child, anything. Within seconds we see a range of emotion and finally, a peaceful death. The other survivors experience a similar transition, albeit more slowly as they journey away from the wreck, initially making their way to the tree line and beyond, hoping to find rescue, shelter, and safety.

Unfortunately it's not meant to be: the wolves are after them, and they must move quickly but smartly. After half of them are gone, either taken by the wolves or the elements, they find brief safety and reflect on what drives them: their children, their wives, and what have you. This would be their "happy moment" that follows them into death: their most cherished memories. You can't help but put yourself in their spot, and are forced to roleplay what your happy moment would be, or how you would spend the last hours or minutes of life. And it's terrifying.

I certainly wasn't expecting something so heavy, or insightful, but that's what you get here. A coworker of mine "ruined" the ending by saying it ends suddenly, as though they chopped the climax of the of movie off and the screen just went to black. Does Ottway survive his fight? Does it matter? No, it doesn't, and to me it's clear that he does not make it. See, the wolves are not wolves, the wolves are death. When I first saw the trailer I kind of groaned when I saw the wolves in all their CGI glory. Animated animals in these sorts of things can be a tricky act, but to me, it makes perfect sense in this film when you accept that these aren't your typical wolves. My friend, Voices, is much more insightful and pointed out this metaphor clearly; althoug subconsciensly I must have know. I asked if the people in the audience who were audibly upset over the ending simply didn't get it, but I think we all get it to some degree, we must. For me, the exact scene in which I knew this was much more about facing death than just surviving the wilderness is when they make their way across a gigantic ravine. A sheer cliff drops hundreds of feet below, and they manage to assemble a rope of sorts to the trees across the way. The lateral length of this cliff is staggering, as the camera frames the shot to give you a sense of the size of mother nature. The characters themselves even note that they are doing this to escape the wolves, that they wouldn't be able to follow, which makes perfect sense. But immediately, on the other side of this ravine, are the wolves, hungry and malicious as ever. Indeed, it doesn't matter what you do, death is here for you.

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time; the suspense is played out perfectly. The characters are interesting, and while mildly depressing, the film was fantastic.

Once more into the fray.
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day.
Live and die on this day.