“Not 50 Shades, Still Grey”

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:

Ottway and the remaining men venture away from the crash site into the wilderness.

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.

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.

The alpha male from the wolf pack confronts Ottway's pack.

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.

The men examine the corpse of the deceased man after a wolf attack.

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 (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 Otwa to go down fighting rather than "taking the easy way out" and killing himself. He has another chance to 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. 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 the wolf attacks first.) showing his courage and determination, and it cuts to black, only to show 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.

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 wildness his own personal hell/limbo in which he had to earn the right to really die and be at peace?

Ottway prepares to fight the alpha wolf to the death with his bare hands.

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, dominance, power, determination, weakness, and competition over who is “top dog”. Rather, top wolf.

Works Cited

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:

https://cinephilefix.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/film-analysis-the-grey/

 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:

http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2012/01/film-review-the-grey-liam-neeson-brutalizing-wolves

"The Grey." IMDb. IMDb.com, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

Website URL:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1601913/