Is a gritty survival film set in Alaska really something that people would want to see during winter, or is Hollywood banking on the fact that certain regions haven’t seen so much as a snowflake? One thing’s for certain, The Grey is an interesting piece of cinema.
An Alaskan oil drilling team is stranded when their plane crash lands in the middle of the frozen Alaskian wilderness.
The few survivors, led by Ottway, played by Liam Neeson, fight to survive as they are hunted by a pack of wolves, who see them as intruders on their territory.
Unlike most films, we learn about these characters as they themselves learn about each other. Much like real survival situations, we see the tension, but we also see people being smart about the situation.
The acting in this film is really top notch. Liam Neeson’s performance comes across as real, but many of these other actors, although given brief development for their characters, truly come alive.
The effects in this film were something I didn’t quite expect, they didn’t resort to CGI like every other studio, but instead use animatronics for when the wolves would attack.
Granted, many of these effects are hidden by moments of shaky handheld shots, but actually having something there is always better than making it in a computer.
Overall, this film is a good example of cinematic storytelling, or just storytelling in general.
If you’re studying film, theater or writing here at the college, I urge you to watch this film.
A well-crafted contribution to the medium, The Grey gets a 4/5.
