The Grey is an unexpected gem. Although the story is nothing new - oil-drillers in Alaska's plane crashes, survivors battle the icy elements and wolves - Joe Carnahan's excellent direction means that the film is relentlessly gripping and brutal, and Liam Neeson gives a truly wonderful performance as the haunted group leader who rediscovers the will to live. Sound design is superb, putting the audience right in the middle of the action with the characters, complemented by Marc Streitenfeld's thoughtful music score. The plane disaster is brief but terrifying, made stronger by focusing on Neeson's character's experience rather than spectacle, and the immediate aftermath is harrowingly shot in emotionally harsh close-ups, but indeed all the set-pieces are very strongly handled. The Grey is grim, shocking, absorbing and bleakly beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment