I watched the move “The Grey” last night, starring Liam Neeson. It started out as “we,” but my wife quickly had had enough. I wanted my $4.99 worth. (This is not movie review, lest you think I have any pretensions in that area. But if you are thinking about seeing it, don’t read any further.)
The movie is set in Alaska, and is ugly throughout. The only thing that held my interest was the potential for a happy ending, but the lead characters are one-by-one killed off, including Neeson’s character, Ottway, at the end. Wolves, assuming demonic proportions, stalk them throughout as if they did not have better things to do … like hunting prey with more protein and fat. Ottway tries to lead the pack of men to safety in the trees. Wolves apparently don’t go there. The symbolism is beyond me.
Of course the movie is a metaphor for facing our deepest fears. But Jesus, let us win now and then!
The only other movies that came to mind were those set in Southeast Asia where our nightmare is the “Viet Cong.” We never saw them – only their punji stakes and other barbarous traps picking off the good guys one-by-one. Those movies were intended for propaganda purposes to demonize our enemies and justify the slaughter that we inflicted on that country. This one … unless Obama is thinking about invading Canada (a routine American ritual in our early years … hmmm …) taunts our psyches for unknown reasons.
The movie is based on a short story, Ghost Walker, by MacKenzie Jeffers, who also co-wrote the screenplay (thank you, Wiki). People who saw it in a theater surely came out smiling … relieved at rejoining life after such a dark journey!
My wife was reminded of Sarah Palin shooting wolves from the safety of a helicopter. The animals are a Jungian archetype, as in Little Red Riding Hood where the Big Bad one symbolizes hunger. (Hunger has constantly stalked humans in our post-hunter-gatherer existence.)
If you have a chance to see The Grey, at least know that it is not a kind treatment of either wolves or humans. I can count the number of times cast members smiled on one hand and still pick my nose.
Piece of Mindful 
Mother Nature extinguishing humans! I thought you would be cheering.
On the other hand, your walks through the countryside have reinforced the notion that nature sustains us, so to have her turn can be disconcerting.
I like your point that the chase was thermodynamicly inefficient. My favorite here was the T-Rex in the Jurassic Park movies who seemed to spend all his time chasing humans. A conspicuous consumption thing, I guess.
safety in the trees
Representation of civilization, perhaps?
I’d say the archetype here is “humans have been mean to nature, now nature is pissed”, inspired by anthropomorphic global warming and pollution. We will now be poisoned and cooked.
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The trees could represent society. The characters our outcasts living at a far outpost. Ottman is stopped from blowing his own head off early-on by the sound of wolves. Then he gets on the plane. He is suicidal, and yet when the plane crashes he clings on to life with every ounce of energy.
It’s rare when I see a movie these days that I even think about it the next day, most are so forgettable. So this one had some power.
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Thank you for reviewing The Gray, Mark. I went online and rented The Gray on Friday afternoon, before I left my office at DISH. It downloaded to my Hopper and was ready to watch before I got home. Some reviewers have commented that this film is inspirational and showcases the will to survive in a man versus nature situation, but I don’t see it. I agree with you, The Gray is just a depressing movie.
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I liked The Grey – and thought the wolves were not just a metaphor for fear in general, but for death specifically. And the message of the movie is that like it or not, death is coming for you.
Also, knowing that Liam Niessen’s wife died so soon before the filming of the movie made it all the more haunting for me. His performance was amazing.
So, not an uplifting movie or one that I would want to see again – but it sure was effective.
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That’s pretty good, makes perfect sense.
Welcome home!
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Thanks! I wrote a postcard to send you from Laos, but never sent it. If I send it, it will be from Portland. I’m thoughtful like that. Did I get that from you?
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