Overview:
In the movie The
Grey, directed by Joe Carnahan, Liam Neeson stars as John Ottway, a
sharpshooter working at an oil refinery in the Alaskan wilderness. In the
exposition of the movie, Ottway has just completed a long five-week shift and
is on a flight home with his coworkers, when their plane crashes in the
wilderness, leaving only eight men alive. After much dispute over whether or
not they should stay at the crash site, they begrudgingly come to a consensus and
leave the site in search of safety. However, they aren't alone. They are
constantly being followed and even attacked by a pack of wolves on top of
their struggle against starvation, injury, and the bitter cold. They pack up
whatever belongings they can salvage that have potential use, killing a few
wolves along the way, while losing a few of their own as well.
The Grey's Treatment of Class:
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This movie is packed with
endless interpretations of the symbolic significance within each character, and
not just the eight men struggling to survive, but the wolves, the elements, and
even God.
First, an analysis of what each element or character represents. Well first of all you have the main character, Ottway, portrayed by Liam Neeson. Ottway is the most complex of all the characters. He represents not only the uncertainty of mankind, but also the bravery, fear, desperation, hope, resolve, and tenacity (all heroic qualities man wished to possess). Well, except for fear, one might say. This duality is exemplified through Ottway’s conversation with Diaz (a scared, conflicted, and ambitious character) as they set up a fire for the night.
(Please pardon the
language in advance.)
Diaz: Cause
I wanna live, motherfucker. Do you understand that? I don’t want some
Timberwolf shittin’ me out on this mountain.
Ottway: You’re scared.
Diaz: What?
Ottway: You don’t need all that nonsense, all that chest puff bullshit. What’s wrong with being scared?
Diaz: I’m not scared.
Ottway: You’re not?
Diaz: No.
Ottway: I’m terrified.
Diaz: I can tell.
Ottway: And not an ounce of shame in saying it. I’m scared shitless.
Diaz: That’s because you’re a punk. I don’t walk through this world with fear in my heart.
Ottway: You pick that up in the pen? Somebody scribble that in the day room wall?
Diaz: You better take it easy, motherfucker.
Ottway: Talking tough means jackshit now. You’re not scared? You’re a fool. Worse, you’re a fucking liar.
Ottway: You’re scared.
Diaz: What?
Ottway: You don’t need all that nonsense, all that chest puff bullshit. What’s wrong with being scared?
Diaz: I’m not scared.
Ottway: You’re not?
Diaz: No.
Ottway: I’m terrified.
Diaz: I can tell.
Ottway: And not an ounce of shame in saying it. I’m scared shitless.
Diaz: That’s because you’re a punk. I don’t walk through this world with fear in my heart.
Ottway: You pick that up in the pen? Somebody scribble that in the day room wall?
Diaz: You better take it easy, motherfucker.
Ottway: Talking tough means jackshit now. You’re not scared? You’re a fool. Worse, you’re a fucking liar.
During this scene, we
hear the alpha male of the wolf pack fighting for dominance with another wolf
getting ahead of itself in the background, creating a parallel structure of the
argument occurring between Ottway and Diaz (Ottway being the alpha male).
Ottway is the one that is showing bravery through admitting to his fear,
whereas Diaz is afraid to admit his own fear and is therefore a coward. Their
dispute is abruptly ended when the alpha male of the wolf pack comes face to
face with Diaz.
One by one, each
member of the “man pack” dies off… Again, the wolf pack and the group of men
mirror each other symbolically and sequentially: The men manage to kill one
wolf; a wolf manages to kill one of the men. However they die of other causes.:
One falls off of the line when trying to cross a gorge, another drowns, one
gives up and convinces Ottway to leave him to be overtaken by the wolves, etc.
Diaz Decides to
Stay Behind:
Ottway, Talget and Diaz are the
only three left. Diaz has been injured and loses all motivation to press
forward, no matter how much Ottway and Talget try to sway him. At this point in
time, Ottway and Talget accept Diaz’s decision. They then take off their gloves
to shake hands and tell each other their first names (They had been calling
each other by their last names the entire time), creating a real, human moment
between the three of them. We hear first the silent stillness of the Alaskan
air and the burbling of the river, but then the growl of a wolf. Then the scene
cuts back to Ottway and Talget again. Soon after, Talget drowns in the river,
leaving Ottway by himself, weak, cold, starving, alone.
Some interpretations
of the movie have believed each man to be human characteristic that Ottway
possesses, which lead to his survival and their detriment. For example, like
previously stated, Diaz embodies fear and ego, Flannery weakness (falls behind
while they are running from the wolf pack and is eaten), Hendrick hope or faith
(attempts to save one of the men who falls and is dragged away by the wolves,
builds a memorial cross for another who dies of hypoxia in the night).
The
Grey's Treatment of Faith:
Faith also comes into
play, mostly toward the conclusion of the movie. Before the fight between
Ottway and Diaz, they all discussed the existence of God, but their theories
are tested when Ottway (the only one left alive at this point) is running low
on energy and hope, finds himself once again face to face with the wolves and
he screams at God to give him a sign to prove that He is real.
“Do something! Come on, prove it! Fuck faith, earn it! Show me something real. I need it now, not later, now! Show me and I’ll believe in you till the day I die. I swear. I’m calling on you. I’m calling on you!”
We hear absolute silence. Ottway then says, “Fuck it, I’ll do it myself.” This captures the relationship between man and God, belief and unbelief, independence and interdependence. Ottway’s desperation shows man’s need for God’s intervention when he no longer has control, but at the same time emphasizes the need to try, and to put in a little work of your own to earn success.
After asking for a sign, Ottway in a way receives one: an alternative way to die. The wolf stands before him. The wolf can be interpreted as a sign in itself, a more honorable death if you will; A way for Ottway to go down fighting rather than "taking the easy way out" and killing himself. He has another chance to really earn his death.
Ottway straps broken bottlenecks to his knuckles and prepares to fight the alpha male: alpha-to-alpha. In a way this can be seen as either man versus nature or man versus himself. The wolf on its own along with the other elements represents the brutality of nature, which would be a man versus nature conflict. If the wolf is a reflection of Ottway, this could resemble the struggle within himself between belief and unbelief. The movie concludes with Ottway making the first move (Which it atypical. Usually a wolf attacks first) showing his courage and determination. The scene cuts to black showing one last clip of only a few seconds where we see fur, moving up and down (breathing), which could either be the wolf’s fur or Ottway’s coat made of similar material, suggesting that it could be either Ottway or the wolf which survived. This leaves the viewer scrambling for answers. It forces them to decide the ending for themselves.
In an interview with Director Joe Carnahan concerning themes
of spirituality in the film, he says:
“I think it’s the contradictions that exist in
all of us at times in reference to God or to spirituality or to religion in
general. There’s a duality of a guy calling on God: ‘Where are you when I need
you?’ and then at the same time ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ I think
that contradiction does exist in all of us, those of faith and those who
profess to have no faith.”
So one must ask the
question: Why is a recently suicidal man now fighting for his life? (Ottway has
a flashback to his job before he got on the plane with a gun to his head, ready
to fire.) Could he have already pulled the trigger? Was he dead the entire time
but the plane crash and the struggle through the wilderness his own personal
hell/limbo in which he had to earn the right to really die and be at peace? The
answer is left for the viewer to find out on their own through the exploration
of their own imagination.
Many religious
audiences would interpret Ottway’s bravery and the cross he made out of his
passed companions’ wallets intended to be returned to their families as a sign
that he had faith in the end, where non-religious audiences would say the
opposite: that he had given up on God and in the end did not believe.
End Scene:
Ottway Battles the Alpha Wolf
As he prepares to fight the wolf,
Ottway recalls a poem written by his father reading:
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.
The real victory for Ottway doesn’t come through his battle with
the alpha wolf, but rather through his acceptance of reality. Ottway finally
realizes that there is beauty to be embraced (through his relationships with
the human pack) in the present and that instead of looking for an escape from
reality, we should all embrace it. Instead of running from his ultimate fate,
Ottway goes down fighting. That is where the honor lies for his character, and
for all of us.
The movie “The Grey” holds a lot of significance
for today’s society. What does it mean to be masculine? What does it mean to
admit fear? To band together? So often men are held to this standard of masculinity.
They are encouraged to hide their fear and allow an overly egotistical image of
themselves (as alpha male) to take its place. The theme of fellowship is also important
in life. Ottway wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had without his friends, even
if he was the leader and they didn’t get along. There is strength in numbers,
and weakness in solitude.
In summary, The
Grey is a prominent example of man’s struggle of life in general: the
fear of death, what to believe in, courage in the midst of fear, masculinity, dominance,
power, determination, weakness, and competition over who is “top dog”. Rather,
top wolf.
Works Cited
Cusey, Rebecca.
"Interview: Director Joe Carnahan on God and Spirituality in Thriller “The
Grey”." Patheos.com. Patheos Labs, 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 May
2015.
Website URL:
Google Images.
"Google+images+"the+grey" - Google Search."
Google+images+"the+grey" - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr.
2015.
Khairy, Wael.
"Film Analysis: "The Grey"" The Cinephile Fix.
Wordpress.com, 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Website URL:
Suebsaeng,
Asawin. ""The Grey": So Much More Than Liam Neeson Brutalizing
Wolves." Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National
Progress, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
Website URL:
"The Grey."
IMDb. IMDb.com, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Website URL:
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