I’ve been seeing four films a month at this point and while it hardly qualifies me as an expert at least there’s consistently something to write about, I’ve hit a bit of a dead zone with new music. I went to see The Grey recently and while it was not what I expected it I was still impressed.
The movie is a combination of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” and Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat”. The landscape, filmed entirely in Canada, is beautiful and terrifying and the wide shots that are taken show the setting off perfectly. One scene in particular utilizes a slow pan away from a mountain with a river at the base and is especially attention grabbing. Liam Neeson competently plays the roll of a man who has almost nothing left to live for and is tasked with finding a group of plane crashed survivors safety. Thematically the movie tackles larger issues; faith in god, belief in technology, willpower, and personal relationships and does so in a manner that is both poignant and refreshing. Some are quite obvious while others require a level of depth in thinking that make them not immediately apparent. Viewers my age will undoubtedly be disappointed that it wasn’t Taken but The Grey is more intellectually rewarding. For example the lack of a definitive ending is sure to result in some rolled eyes and arguments but the experience each man goes through is what matters.
I’ve always thought that to truly enjoy a movie you have to suspend a certain amount of disbelief and that is definitely a prerequisite for the film especially at the beginning. My only real complaint is the semi-necessary romantic storyline, it would have been more in keeping with the film had the wife only been shown once in the middle rather than being a repeated conceit. Overall the film impresses thematically and cinematographically with a solid acting performance; certainly worth seeing.
Saw it before I left for the Czech. Worth it.
