Cast: Liam Neeson,Dermot Mulroney,Frank Grillo,Dallas Roberts Director: Joe Carnahan Indian Express Ratings:**** This is what surviving a plane crash in Alaska would be like: harsh,brutal and very,very cold,with no easy ways out. The wounds kill,the bites bruise,the wolves slay,the nature haunts,and the men die. Carnahan,also the writer,doesnt spare you any details of those deaths,be it slow and prolonged or quick and messy. Working in an oil rig amid harsh conditions and shifts,the men unfit for mankind as described by Neesons character - are headed home for a two-week vacation when the plane crash takes place. Neeson is a guard hired to keep wolves at bay from the oil rig and when the canines now come for the besieged men in the middle of the Alaska Tundra,he finds himself in the role of a leader. He has ghosts of his own to slay,as the film hints,but he steps naturally into the position he finds himself in. As no respite comes from either nature,the authorities or the wolves,the men start questioning both God as well as the point of fighting at all. Thankfully the film doesnt portend to know the answers. Still,beautifully shot and quietly enacted,The Grey etches distinct characters out of the seven who find themselves in the snow and follows their growth into different markers of bravery. The film also looks death straight in the eye and doesnt flinch or turn away. Not even in the end a grouse you could perhaps hold against Carnahan. However,the resentment wont last. shalini.langer@expressindia.com
