Australian Penthouse

Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Nonso Anozie
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JOE Carnahan has copped a bum rap when it comes to the majority of the films in his portfolio. What started strong with the well-received crime thriller Narc, went on to the underrated Smokin’ Aces, and then the fun but flawed The A-Team. With The Grey, Carnahan has seen a strong return to form, seamlessly merging the grandiose nature of an unforgiving wilderness with the small-scale human drama that, for the most part, works really well.

Ottway (Neeson) is a depressed man whose thoughts are continually travelling to his wife as he runs a protection gig at the arctic edge of the Earth, ensuring that wolves don’t attack the oil-drilling teams. When the time comes for Ottway and the drilling teams to return to their respective homes, the plane transporting the men goes down in the arctic wilderness, in a crash sequence that’s incredibly effective in its simplicity.

Initially, Ottway and the handful of survivors believe that the freezing temperatures and the adamant belief that no-one is coming to find them are the only hurdles they need to overcome. It doesn’t take long, though, for the ragtag group to realise they’re being hunted by a vicious pack of wolves. The intelligent creatures begin taking down the members of the group one at a time, as the men struggle to escape the beasts’ hunting radius.

Anyone who’s unfortunate enough to remember specifics from the trailer will have to deal with the disappointment of having seen a particularly crucial scene that would have been best left unspoiled. Outside of this, the film is genuinely surprising, with Neeson slotting effortlessly into the role as the alpha male of the group.

Considering how convoluted the plot could have become with the threat of freezing to death, not being found and hunted by wolves thrown into the mix, the results are impressively balanced. Shy of a few too many slow-paced personal drama scenes that aren’t as effective as the more poignant moments, the quieter moments also work well in the type of film that could have easily left them by the wayside.

By far the best factor of The Grey, though, is the wolf pack. They’re introduced shortly after the plane crash and Carnahan understands that they’re best left unseen as often as possible to increase the overall tension. When they do strike, they’re brutal in their efficiency of dispatching the survivors. For the rest of the film, you’ll feel incredibly tense, even when the stalking wolf pack is silent in the shadows. Best of all, there’s very little CGI at play when it comes to the wolves: practical effects win the day.

While the first half is brilliant, the second half does lose some momentum and the ending will be sure to divide cinemagoers in terms of its effectiveness. Considering the trailer painted the film as an almost B-grade survival story, it was pleasantly surprising to find a deeper film with a lot of heart and a different take on the genre. If you’re partial to f-bombs, grisly deaths and tense survival drama, The Grey is well worth the price of admission.

THE GREY is in cinemas 16 February, 2012.

Review: Nathan Lawrence

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