The Grey (film)

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The Grey
The Grey Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Joe Carnahan
Produced by Jules Daly
Joe Carnahan
Ridley Scott
Mickey Liddell
Screenplay by Joe Carnahan
Ian MacKenzie Jeffers
Based on Ghost Walker 
by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers
Starring
Music by Marc Streitenfeld
Cinematography Masanobu Takayanagi
Editing by Roger Barton
Jason Hellmann
Studio LD Entertainment
Scott Free Productions
Inferno Distribution
Distributed by Open Road Films
Release date(s)
  • 11 December 2011 (2011-12-11) (Austin)
  • 27 January 2012 (2012-01-27) (United States)
Running time 117 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[1]
Box office $77,278,331[2]

The Grey is a 2011 American psychological thriller co-written, produced and directed by Joe Carnahan and starring Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, and Dermot Mulroney. It is based on the short story "Ghost Walker" by Ian MacKenzie Jeffers, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Carnahan.

The story follows a number of oil-men stranded in Alaska after a plane crash, who are forced to survive using little more than their wits, as a pack of grey wolves stalk them amidst mercilessly cold weather. The film received positive reviews and did well at the box office, grossing $77,278,331.

Contents

Plot [edit]

John Ralph Ottway (Liam Neeson) works in Alaska, killing wolves that threaten an oil drilling team. On his last day on the job, Ottway writes his wife, Ana (Anne Openshaw), a letter explaining his plans to commit suicide. However, he doesn't follow this through. The next day, the plane carrying the team, including Ottway, crashes in a blizzard. Ottway sees a vision of his wife urging him not to feel afraid, and awakens to find one of the team, Lewenden (James Badge Dale), mortally wounded. Ottway calms him, and Lewenden dies. Taking charge, Ottway sets the survivors the task of building a fire. While doing this, he discovers a corpse, and is attacked by the grey wolf feeding on it. After saving Ottway, the group surmises that they are in the wolves' territory. They decide to take turns keeping watch for the predators.

Later, Hernandez (Ben Bray) is killed by two wolves, and the group discovers his body in the morning. Ottway suggests they leave the crash site, but Diaz (Frank Grillo) questions his leadership. While searching for the wallets of their deceased colleagues, intending to return them to their families, Diaz finds an emergency wrist watch containing a radio beacon. The group then leaves the site. While walking through the snow, Flannery (Joe Anderson) falls, and is killed by wolves. One of the group sees a pack of wolves approaching, and the survivors run for the trees, lighting a fire in an attempt to ward off their attackers. The group sets about producing makeshift weaponry, and Diaz threatens Ottway with a knife, but is disarmed. They then kill and eat an omega wolf sent by the pack leader to test them. Diaz, as a symbol of defiance, throws the head back at the pack, a move noted by the group as unwise, as wolves are the only creatures known to take revenge. While sitting around the fire, Diaz tells the group of his atheist beliefs, and Talget (Dermot Mulroney) states he believes in God. Ottway states he is also an atheist, but wishes he could believe. A blizzard approaches, and the survivors set to maintaining the fire.

In the morning, Burke (Nonso Anozie), who had been suffering from hypoxia, is found dead. The remaining survivors leave the camp, and travel to the edge of a steep canyon. They secure a line, and Diaz and Ottway traverse the canyon. Talget, however, is afraid of heights, and loses his glasses. His injured hand becomes caught on the rope, which breaks. He falls to the ground, and is dragged away by wolves. Diaz attempts to save Talget, but fails, and injures his knee. The three remaining survivors continue, and arrive at a river. There, Diaz explains that he would rather die there than return home to a meaningless life. He refuses offers of help, and asks Ottway whether death would bring him comfort. They part company, and Ottway and Hendrick continue on together. Left alone, Diaz hears the wolves approaching. Further long the river, Ottway and Hendrick are set upon by wolves once again. In an attempt to flee, Hendrick falls into the river, and is trapped beneath the surface. Ottway attempts to save him, but is unsuccessful, and Hendrick drowns.

Ottway, cold and wet, continues alone, and begins to suffer hallucinations due to the onset of hypothermia. He falls to the ground, and the pack of wolves surround him. Ottway places his colleagues wallets in the snow, along with the undelivered letter to his wife. He sees a hallucination of his wife, dying on a hospital bed. As the alpha wolf approaches him, he arms himself with a knife, the wire antenna from the emergency wristwatch and shards of glass tied to his hand, and attacks.

In a post-credits scene, the back of Ottway's head is seen lying on top of a panting wolf's stomach. The ultimate fate of both Ottway and the wolf is not made clear.

Cast [edit]

Production [edit]

The Grey reunited director Joe Carnahan with producers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott (credited as executive producer) as well as actor Liam Neeson, who collaborated on the 2010 action film The A-Team. The film initially imagined a much-younger lead character and Bradley Cooper, who also worked with Carnahan on The A-Team, was cast in the lead role, but he was eventually replaced by Neeson.[3] Filming began in January 2011 and ended in March. The film was shot in forty days.[4] Though set in Alaska, the film was shot in Smithers, British Columbia, with several scenes being shot at the Smithers Regional Airport.[5] Joe Carnahan disclosed, in a Q&A session following an early screening at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, that he had shot an alternative ending (that he'd never intended to use) showing Neeson battling the alpha wolf. It will be included in deleted cuts.[6]

Release [edit]

The world premiere of The Grey took place on 11 January 2012, at the Regal Cinemas Theater in Los Angeles.[7] The film was released nationwide on 27 January 2012.[8][unreliable source?]

Marketing [edit]

Promotion for The Grey in part targeted Christian groups by issuing a "film companion", which highlighted the spiritual value of the film.[9] Marketing also partnered with The Weather Network to highlight the hazardous filming conditions.[9] Open Road Films incorporated comments tweeted by movie critics to promote the film in the third trailer for The Grey. This was the first time tweets from and Twitter handles for professional critics had been used in a film trailer.[10]

Music [edit]

The Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film score by Marc Streitenfeld
Released 14 February 2012 (2012-02-14)
Length 35:09
Label Lakeshore
Producer Marc Streitenfeld

The score for The Grey was released on CD 14 February 2012. A digital version available for download was released on 24 January 2012.[11][unreliable source?]

All songs written and composed by Marc Streitenfeld. 

No. Title Length
1. "Writing the Letter"   2:00
2. "Suicide"   1:44
3. "You Are Gonna Die"   3:14
4. "Walking"   1:45
5. "Eyes Glowing"   1:25
6. "The Morning After"   2:57
7. "Collecting Wallets"   1:53
8. "Wife Memory"   1:09
9. "Life and Death"   2:52
10. "Lagging Behind"   1:53
11. "Running from Wolves"   1:46
12. "Daughter Appears"   2:13
13. "Last Walk"   2:33
14. "Memorial"   3:41
15. "Alpha"   2:16
16. "Into the Fray"   1:49

Reception [edit]

The film earned generally positive reviews from critics with particular praise going to Neeson's performance. As of 19 November 2012, The Grey holds a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes[12] based on 183 reviews, stating: "The Grey is an exciting tale of survival, populated with fleshed-out characters and a surprising philosophical agenda."[12] Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars,[13] and wrote that the unrelenting harshness of The Grey so affected him that he departed the screening of a different movie on the same day: "It was the first time I've ever walked out of a film because of the previous film. The way I was feeling in my gut, it just wouldn't have been fair to the next film. " The film also earned a place on A.O. Scott's list of the year's ten best films,[14] and Slate film critic Dana Stevens included it in her runners-up for the year's best movies.[15]

Dissenters' reviews tend to focus on the film's abrupt ending and perceive the emotional and philosophical undertones as unnecessary. Siobhan Synnot of The Scotsman gave the film two stars, commenting that "On the down side, there's a lot of dull pretentious philosophizing about the heartlessness of nature and God. On the up side, you get to see a man punch a wolf in the face."[16] Some reviewers and analysts have described the film as having an atheist theme, due to characters such as John Ottway (Liam Neeson) pleading for divine help but not getting any.[17][18][19][20]

Controversy [edit]

On 19 January 2012, British Columbia's The Province featured an article about the movie's buying four wolf carcasses from a local trapper, two for props for the movie and two wolves for the cast to eat.[5] This angered environmentalists and animal activists, who were already irate that the movie depicts wolves in a negative light, specifically at a time when grey wolves had recently been removed from the Endangered Species Act in many western American states.[21][22] In response to the portrayal of wolves in the film, groups including PETA and WildEarth Guardians started drives to boycott the film.[23][24] Open Road responded by placing a fact sheet about the grey wolf on the film's official website, with cooperation from the Sierra Club.[24] Carnahan responded by downplaying the significance of the violent wolves portrayed in the film, instead highlighting the significance of man's internal struggle for survival.[23]

See also [edit]

  • Survival film, about the film genre, with a list of related films

References [edit]

  1. ^ "The Grey". The Numbers. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  2. ^ "The Grey". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 February 2012. 
  3. ^ Nashawaty, Chris (3 September 2010). "Liam Neeson replaces much-younger Bradley Cooper in survival thriller 'The Grey'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  4. ^ Sneider, Jeff (14 January 2012). "No 'Grey' areas for Carnahan". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  5. ^ a b Schaefer, Glen (19 January 2012). "Method motivates Liam Neeson, 'The Grey' cast to dine on wolf meat". The Province. Retrieved 21 January 2012. 
  6. ^ "Joe Carnahan Talks About the Alternate Ending He Shot for 'The Grey'". The Moveable Feast. January 30, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.  More than one of |website= and |work= specified (help)
  7. ^ "Stars at the LA Premiere of 'The Grey'". Zimbio. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012. 
  8. ^ "The Grey Gets A Release Date". ScreenRant.com. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  9. ^ a b Stewart, Andrew (26 January 2012). "The Grey looks to lead box office pack". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  10. ^ Dickey, Josh L. "They're blurbing tweets now? Yes they are". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  11. ^ Loring, Allison. "Aural Fixation: Composer Marc Streitenfeld May Play to 'The Grey,' But His Chilling Score Won't Leave You Cold". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  12. ^ a b "The Grey". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 November 2012. 
  13. ^ Ebert, Roger (25 January 2012). "The Grey". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2 February 2012. 
  14. ^ Scott, A.O. (14 December 2012). "25 Favorites From a Year When 10 Aren’t Enough". New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2013. 
  15. ^ Stevens, Dana (19 December 2012). "The 10 Best Movies of 2012". Slate. Retrieved 6 January 2013. 
  16. ^ Synnot, Siobhan (22 January 2012). "Film reviews: A Useful Life, The Grey, A Monster In Paris, Intruders". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 February 2012. 
  17. ^ Morris, Shane (2 February 2012). "'The Grey': Liam Neeson's bleak atheist parable". BreakPoint. Retrieved 6 January 2013. 
  18. ^ "Camouflaged Atheism! (User Reviews)". Yahoo! Movies. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013. 
  19. ^ "THE GREY – A MOVIE REVIEW". the Trent Wilke. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013. 
  20. ^ Roodhouse, Robert (3 February 2012). "What's So Great About the Grey?". Retrieved 19 January 2013.  Unknown parameter |blog= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Nasaw, Daniel. "Congress strips gray wolf endangered species protection". BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2012. 
  22. ^ "Salazar Announces Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Western Great Lakes, Removal from Threatened and Endangered Species List". U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 15 September 2012. 
  23. ^ a b Lynch, Rene (28 January 2012). "'The Grey' slammed for 'bloodthirsty' portrayal of wolves". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  24. ^ a b Robinson, Jessica (26 January 2012). "Groups boycott 'The Grey' with Liam Neeson for portrayal of wolves". KPLU-FM. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 

External links [edit]

Films directed by Joe Carnahan
1990s
2000s
2010s
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