The Grey

John Ottway is a man who is employed to make sure that the wildlife in the Alaskan wilderness does not interfere with a group of men working in the oilfields. Whenever a wolf comes too close to the men Ottway shoots it before it can attack. After their shift is over and it is time to head back home, the plane they are riding in suddenly hits a major area of turbulence, causing the plane to crash. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Ottway and the remaining survivors must fight the bitter cold and hungry wolves in order to have even a remote chance of rescue.

The Grey is a very, very tough film to watch. It's depressing, giving the viewers what feels like a false hope that the situation will end well. What's interesting though is the fact that The Grey is not just a film about a group of men trying to survive. It's also a critique on the existence of God and an afterlife. It seemed as if The Grey argued that there is no God or afterlife, and that we must learn to survive on our own. There were times when it felt like it wanted to believe in God or even an afterlife, but couldn't. For instance there are several times where characters make what could be considered a little prayer up to God, but they are met by silence except for the howling of the cold, biting wind and the wolves around them. There is very little of what I would consider positive. The only positive things that come to mind would be the fact that all of the survivors (especially John Ottway) are willing to risk their lives for each other, giving their all in order to make it out of their ordeal alive. There are also a couple of survivors who stay firm in their faith to the very end.

The Grey may not sound like a good film to see, but I would recommend this one because you can use it as a good starting point in a discussion on the topics of God or an afterlife. I don't recommend it for anybody under the age of 15 due to the R-rating for language, graphic, disturbing images and the heavy thematic material; however, if you let your kids see it, it can be used as a good tool to help your kids understand the messages that the film has.