If you haven't seen it yet, all you need to know about the movie The Grey is that 59-year-old Liam Neeson fights off gray wolves with broken airline liquor bottles taped to his hands. But the screenplay, written by director Joe Carnahan and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers (who also wrote the book from which the movie is based), is much deeper than that. And that's where the SPOILERS begin!
Jeffers' book is titled "Ghost Walker" which all but proves my theory -- my theory that this film doesn't take place in the Alaskan wilderness, there is no plane crash, the wolves are a "test" of his faith, and Liam Neeson is already dead.
My theory is that The Grey is purgatory.
The movie starts with John Ottway (Liam Nesson) contemplating suicide, a choice he consciously decides against -- or so we think. As the movie progresses there are three or four distinct times he could have actually died, leaving this world and entering a realm of purgatory where his faith is tested before moving on to the afterlife.
Throughout the film we also get glimpses inside Ottway's memories, including the repetitive vision of his wife lying next to him in bed, reminding him to "not be afraid" (we later learn that this is actually a hospital bed -- but can't tell which of them is sick). And we get a flashback to his job as a gray wolf assassin, protecting his fellow oil-riggers from attacks. It's a job he despises.
Jumping ahead, post-brutally-realistic plane crash, Ottway eases a victim's death by informing him to just relax, "it'll slide over you, it'll feel nice and warm." Strangely descriptive for any living soul to know without experiencing for themselves. His fellow survivors are equally curious.
Later that night the first group of gray wolves attack their "camp." Coincidentally, these are the exact predators that Ottway has become an expert on through his experiences and research for his job. The wolves continue to attack an unrealistic number of times as the days go on (something animal-rights activists are howling over), killing the survivors off one-by-one. Now it could just be that this is a Hollywood action film, but I would like to give it more credit than that. Maybe this is our first hint that these animals aren't real, the entire experience in fact is part of Ottway's "test."
And then there's Ottway's father's poem -- revealed during a deep conversation of faith, religion, and the after-life amongst the survivors:
Once more into the fray.
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day.
Live and die on this day.
I fully expected it to end with "... the grey." And when it didn't, the red flag was raised. So what is "The Grey" then? It can't just be a reference to Ottway's grey beard, can it? And grey wolves are actually "gray" wolves -- with an "A" not a "E". Which got me thinking...
Grey is the color between white and black, between life and death, between heaven and hell. The Grey is purgatory.
Haleigh's Bucket List Leave someone a 100 dollar tip, do a split, be an extra in a studio film, make out with Bruce Campell and... Lister:Haleigh Category:Life & Love
These are the things I absolutely have-to and must do before I kick the bucket! (make your own bucket list on ListAfterList.com - mine bucket list is there, click here)
1.
Skydiving
2.
Get in a shark cage with great white sharks at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
3.
Have a kid and teach him to throw and catch a ball
4.
Write a screenplay for a movie
5.
Learn to play a song on a guitar
6.
Take ballroom dancing lessons
7.
Drive a Ferrari
8.
Drive a racecar around a track at full speed
9.
Bungee jumping
10.
Perform a stand-up comedy act in an open mic night comedy club
11.
Watch all 6 Star Wars movies back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back
12.
Hit a homerun in a real, big-league stadium
13.
Get an official timing of my 40-yard dash
14.
Play 18 holes at Pebble Beach
15.
Have a beer in a bar in Germany
16.
Go to Mardi Gras
17.
Go to Oktoberfest
18.
See the ball drop in Times Square, NYC, New York
19.
Eat Brussels sprout
20.
Read "Crime & Punishment"
21.
Read "The Art of War"
22.
See Casablanca in a movie theater with a bucket a popcorn
Take a look at these horrific bridge collapses that have occurred throughout history:
1.The AshtabulaRiver Railroad Disaster - Also called the Ashtabula Horror, was the worst train disaster in American history when it occurred in far northeastern Ohio on 29 December 1876 at 7:28 p.m. As The Pacific Express plowed through the snow and crossed a bridge over the AshtabulaRiver, about 100 yards from the railroad station at Ashtabula, Ohio, the passengers heard a terrible cracking sound. In just seconds, the bridge fractured and the train plunged 70 feet into a watery abyss. The lead locomotive made it across the bridge, while the second locomotive and 11 railcars including two express cars, two baggage cars, one smoking car, two passenger cars and three sleeping cars and a caboose fell into the ravine below, then igniting a raging fire. Of 159 passengers and crew onboard that night, 64 people were injured and 92 were killed or died later from injuries sustained in the crash (48 of the fatalities were unrecognizable or consumed in the flames.)
2. The Tay Bridge Disaster - The original TayBridge was constructed in the 19th century by noted railway engineer Thomas Bouch, who received a knighthood following the bridge's completion. It spans two small cities in Scotland. Ulysses S. Grant actually commented that it was "a big bridge for a small city." At approximately 7:15 p.m. on the stormy night of 28 December 1879, the central navigation spans of the TayBridge collapsed into the Firth of Tay at Dundee, taking with them a train, 6 carriages and 75 souls to their fate. Investigators quickly determined that the cylindrical cast iron columns supporting the 13 longest spans of the bridge, each 245 ft long, were of poor quality.
3. Silver Bridge, Ohio River - The SilverBridge was an eyebar chain suspension bridge built in 1928 and was named for the color of its aluminum paint. The bridge connected Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Kanauga, Ohio (near Gallipolis, Ohio) over the Ohio River. On December 15, 1967, the SilverBridge collapsed while it was choked with rush hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. Investigation of the wreckage pointed to the cause of the collapse being the failure, due to a small defect, of a single eye-bar in a suspension chain. Odd events in the area over several months before the collapse, including appearances of a "Mothman," led to a 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel. The 2002 "based on a true story" movie of the same name.
4. SunshineSkywayBridge - The two-lane bridge was completed in 1954. The southbound span (the one built in 1969) was destroyed on May 9, 1980, when the freighter SS Summit Venture collided with a support column during a storm, sending over 1200 feet of the bridge plummeting into TampaBay. The collision caused six automobiles and a Greyhound bus to fall 150 feet, killing 35 people. One man, Wesley MacIntire, survived the fall when his pickup truck landed on the deck of the Summit Venture before falling into the bay. He sued the company that owned the ship, and settled for $175,000 in 1984. He always regretted being the only one to survive the fall[citation needed], and died in 1989. Today, The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, spans Florida's TampaBay, and is the world's longest bridge with a cable-stayed main span, with a length of 29,040 feet
5. SchoharieCreekBridge, Amsterdam, NY - Schoharie Creek in New York flows from the foot of Indian Head in the Catskill Mountains to the Mohawk River. On the morning of April 5, 1987, after 30 years of service, two spans of the New York State Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek collapsed. Five vehicles fell into the flooded river, killing ten of the occupants.
6. HatchieRiverBridge, Covington, Tenn. - The winter of 1988-89 was a particularly wet one, with the HatchieRiver flowing at flood levels from November 1988 through April 1989. On April 1, 1989, an 85-ft (26-m) section of the northbound (original bridge) lanes collapsed after two pile bents failed and dropped three bridge spans more than 20 ft (6.1 m) into the river. Four automobiles and a tractor trailer fell into the gap and all eight vehicle occupants died.
7. Queen Isabella Causeway, Texas - In the early morning hours of September 15, 2001, four loaded barges crashed into one of the Queen Isabella Causeway's support columns. Three 80-foot sections of the bridge fell into the water, leaving a large gap in the roadway. The collapsed sections were just next to the highest point of the causeway, making it difficult for approaching drivers to notice. Eight people were killed as their cars fell 85 feet into the water. Five vehicles were recovered from the water along with three survivors. The collapse had a significant economic impact on the region since the Causeway is the only road connecting the island to the mainland.
8. Bridge over I-40 in eastern Oklahoma - A 500-foot section of the bridge collapsed in may of 2002 around 7:30 a.m. when a barge going north on the river struck a pylon. At least nine passenger vehicles and tractor-trailers plunged 60 feet into the Arkansas River below. Seven people died in the horrific tragedy. A truck driver whose tractor-trailer plunged into the river said he did something unusual Sunday that probably saved his life. Rodney Tidwell said, "I had my seat belt on for the first time."
9. Arroyo Pasajero Bridges, California - On the evening of March 10, 1995, in soggy Southern California near Coalinga, the twin bridges carrying Interstate 5 over the Arroyo Pasajero collapsed, killing seven people. The sandy-bottomed Arroyo, which is normally dry, was no match for the swiftly flowing floodwaters, and the resulting scour around the bridge foundations led to their failure.
10. MinneapolisBridge Collapse - As many as 50 vehicles are trapped in the rubble of an interstate bridge collapse. Five people were confirmed dead (expected to rise), and officials said at least 62 people were injured when the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed during the Wednesday evening rush-hour in Minneapolis. Twenty to 30 people were missing.
Two other bridges of interest...
11. The Koror-BabeldaobBridge - The Koror-Babeldaob bridge (K-BBridge) was a 790 ft span concrete box girder bridge connecting the two islands. It was built using the cantilever method in the late 1970s. Socio Construction had offered to build the bridge at half the cost of a proven competitive company. Almost immediately, the bridge's durability was questioned and citizens took safety measures such as driving slowly across it or keeping windows open so as to provide an emergency exit in case of collapse. The 18-year old K-B bridge collapsed abruptly and catastrophically on September 26, 1996 and shut off fresh water and electricity between the islands. In addition, the collapse killed two people and injured four more.
12. The TacomaNarrowsBridge - The original TacomaNarrowBridge, at all stages of its short life, was very active in the wind. Its nickname of Galloping Gertie was earned from its vertical motions in even very modest winds. It collapsed on November 7, 1940. No human life was lost in the collapse of the bridge; however, it attracted wide attention at the time and ever since, due in part to its capture on film. The failure of the bridge occurred when a never-before-seen twisting mode occurred, from winds at a mild 40MPH. The bridge's spectacular self-destruction is often used as an object lesson in the necessity to consider both aerodynamics and resonance effects in structural and civil engineering.
