The Grey - A Philosophy of Heroic Suffering 

Renowned film critic Roger Ebert gave The Grey 3.5/4 stars and was apparently so impressed by it that he walked out of a next screening; _“It was the first time I've ever walked out of a film because of the previous film. The way I was feeling in my gut, it just wouldn't have been fair to the next film.”_ *What are your favorite underrated films? Let me know below!*

"Usually, when a man is about to lose everything, he realizes what mattered to him most. He sees it clearly for the first time." ~Anderson Dawes

Easily the most overlooked film of the decade. I was so happy when I saw this in my subscription feed. Hope this inspired people to take a look at this film.

That was awesome, and as a cancer patient with rare and aggressive cancer undergoing an aggressive chemotherapy it is much needed. "Once more into the fray, Into the last good fight I'll ever know, Live and die this day. Live and die this day".

This is such an optimistic message. Even if everything is lost, one’s life can have meaning until the very last second because it’s an opportunity to face a calamitous situation with courage and maybe grace.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Thank you LSOO, and thank you Mr. Frankl (RIP)

Whenever life feels like too much I always find my way back to this video. It always helps and gives me some kind of warmth when I'm cold

What I only realized over time is this movie has a happy ending but in a very weird way. It so brilliant that the film ends where it does because he has found his will to live again. It doesn't matter what happens next to him. He achieved something very few people have.

The ending to this movie was so emotional. Watching as he places those wallets down and see how he accepts his death will come. Plus that beautiful soundtrack. Amazing.

I lost my mum two days ago and I truly believe after 2 days of suffering to the point of questioning why I'm here, I now know what I must do. My purpose is clear and I will go once more into the fray. Thank you so much for this video. It's given my entire day so much more meaning.

"i just had the clearest thought...i'm done"

I loved this movie when i first watched it. I loved the raw honestly that Liam Neeson brought to the performance. I once briefly met him on the red carpet for Prince Caspian and recall seeing him with his wife. Then some time later she was tragically taken from him in an accident. I cant help but feel the loss of his wife was heavily driving his performance in that movie and how he was feeling at the time. It truly brought me to tears while watching it. I'm sure this man went through the same emotions as the character he was playing in real life. Great video as always; thank you.

Once more into the fray To fight the last good fight I will ever know Live and die on this day Live and die on this day -This has always stuck out to me from this film and have never forgotten it to this day from seeing it in theatres

I remember the very last scene where Liam Neeson looks at the camera. That's it. That's all he does is look and in that one look you can see and feel so much. I can't even describe it, one of the best moments captured on film I've ever seen. Ultimate despair into fierce, meaningful determination

This was worth an Oscar nomination at the least. It's really a great film which takes a deep philosophical view of life. So incredibly underrated and underappreciated.

This is the most beautiful movie I've ever seen in my life. The music. The shots. The character development and character revelations. The assumptions you make about each character initially vs. the truth as it's revealed about them, step by step, from one moment to another. The good these hardened men have in their hearts. The women and children and parents they love with all their hearts. The desperate efforts they go to in order to reunite with those loved ones, only to be ultimately forced to accept the brutal reality of their demise, but the ability to make peace with it to some degree while in the jaws of death. The surprise ending, when we learn that Liam Neeson's wife didn't leave him, but instead died of cancer. That twist gripped me with the strike of that beautiful piano key and I broke down and actually wept for a solid hour after the credits ended. I had gotten married about a year before I saw this film, and the idea of losing my sweet love in such a way, to desperately call out to God for comfort in vain, the new friendships he forged in the fire of his suffering, and at the last moment, to recall that beautiful poem, to remember his father, and appreciate and feel gratitude for the beauty of life in the face of certain death....I really can't recommend it enough. I really can't say enough about it. It was, in a way, for me...scripture--the very voice of God. It was a masterpiece if there ever was one.

I was about 17 when i watched grey in 2011 when i didn't generally liked "films" of our era,then i watched grey,i was startled at the end i remember stuck in my chair thinking what a masterpiece this movie is...it started a fire in my life and after that i was more into films than ever...

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 saw this movie right before my last (3rd) deployment and I would recite this to myself in my head and it gave me peace.

Liked this movie since I first saw it. People just expected Taken. Liam neeson is a great actor.

Four years ago I had nothing but this video, watching it again and remembering how much I clung to every single word and thought; I'd never believe I'd fight for so long and end up even winning some battles. I can't put into words how thankful I am for your work

Pure, beautiful, courage, distilled through the rocky terrain and icy water, to give further strengthened purpose and fresh start reached

This reminds me so much of my mother who passed away from Cancer. She never complained once, she never said what happened her to was bad or she was unlucky. she stayed strong for us and fought right until the end. This video helped me to see her triumph in this desperate situation.

A lesson in life that I have learned, which relates to the Frankl quote at 5:40 , is that life is about change but change is not linear or continuous. It ebbs and flows, spirals, starts and stops. Being faced with an unyielding difficulty is not a problem but an opportunity to bring one’s good, strong qualities to the fore and exercise one’s capacities in a dynamic way. Doing so leads to greater self-knowledge and possibly self-transcendent experiences. Experiences and achievements that can transform one’s nature. Through this personal progress a person changes, thus changing the world. ~ Thanks for another terrific video essay!

Words can’t describe how this movie Made me feel. Even as a very young teen this movie gave me goosebumps bumps that I will never forget.

this is the video that hooked me onto your channel, it's more moving than i care to express.

I randomly saw this movie one night....and i randomly saw this video on the feeds...i don't regreat a second for watching both of them! Very meaningful and inspirational content for a man's everyday life. When death smiles at you,you smile back.

The ending scene is one of the most beatifull scenes i've ever seen, everytime i just only rewatch the scene i'm quite for like 2-3 minutes

That scene where he says “I’m done” is so deep. That one hit me hard.

One of the greatest endings I’ve ever seen in a movie, an incredibly rare instance of a movie that adds an entire layer of to the story with a single shot, a layer that left me absolutely horrified and encouraged at the same time

While the dad seeing his daughter before the wolves take him was rough. It always tears my heart out when the guy drowns... It was just so unbelievably unfair for him to die like that after making it so far... In that moment, I *was* Ottway... It all felt so hopeless and I just remember thinking "WHY?!"

It's quite an experience going into a film expecting "Taken with wolfs" and instead finding a somber examination on life, death, and finding purpose in the face of insurmountable odds. Another great, underappreciated Liam Neeson film in my opinion is A Walk Among the Tombstones. Like The Grey, I think it was easy to mistake it for another of Neeson's action flicks, but this time around it was actually an incredibly dark detective thriller more in the vein of something like 8mm. While I wouldn't say it's as good as The Grey, it is still well worth watching with great supporting performances from Dan Stevens and David Harbour, before his breakout role in Stranger Things.

Another impeccable video, sir. The idea of finding personal meaning against the apparent meaninglessness of the universe is an idea that's always resonated with me, and is probably why I continually revisit films like The Grey years after their release. Stanley Kubrick expressed a similar sentiment in a 1968 interview, which I feel perfectly encapsulates these ideas: "The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death - however mutable man may be able to make them - our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light."

In dark times I always find my way back to this video some how. I don’t know why but I’m thankful it’s here.

This movie was a masterclass but only if you truly understand the meaning of life 🙏🏻

A standing ovation, continuing to be a master of orientation.

A beautiful movie and wonderfully gracious analysis. Please, keep spreading inspiration with your analyses.

Beautiful video. Poetic, meaningful... cool stuff

Your videos seem to always come out during times of inner reflection for me and they resonate with me so much. I'm really happy I found your channel, your videos never disappoint. I look forward to seeing your channel grow.

This was beautiful. I remember this book. My mother passed it to me when my brother died suddenly. I've re-read it 6 or more times. Likewise the grey touched me. What a good marriage of 2 things that mean so much to me. A struggle with depression and loss. Thank you.

responsibility = meaning. Thanks bucko

I've never seen this film before, but this video makes me really want to check it out. Loved this video man, your channel needs at least 100X as many subscribers.

I am not a fan of the deceptive marketing, but at the sometime without it would not have gotten my 16 yr old self to see the movie in the first place. Which turned out to be one of the best and inspiring movies I have ever seen.

One of the best films I have watched. But most importantly, a film that kept me sane in a difficult period of my life.

I am going through the roughest time in my life, and was reminded of this movie. Just rewatched two weeks ago. Then a friend of mine recommended me Viktor Frankl. I started reading him 3 days ago. I was astounded how this movie complemented the book. Now I just saw this video explicitly making the connection between them. Such a great coincidence for me.

The Grey really impressed me for taking the survival-in-the-wilderness genre so formidably back to the basics. Thank you for your equally impressive review. 🐺

The camera focused on Neesons eyes at the end was brilliant, you can't fully see his expression nor dies he speak any words. I think he begins to smile, knowing that he will likely see his beloved wife, previously passed. His smile then turns to a predatory, aggressive scowl as he accepts the challenge of the fight. The last good fight he'll ever know. Once more into the fray.

This is a powerful film that has stayed with me. I couldn't understand why it was panned by critics. I think part of the main characters key is anger. Anger is one of the facilities that enable survival. Thank you for the wonderful videos you make.

I am absolutely blown away by your channel. Hope you are proud

Hope is the word! without it we cannot endure suffering

I’ve liked this movie and thought about it for years. Listening to people like Jordan Peterson and jocko willink got me close but I could never tie together why I loved this move. You just did that for me. I will take this with me forever, thank you..

Possibly the best channel on RU-vid

I’ve watched this film with a couple of friends before and some of them are very surface level thinkers. They were very disappointed with the ending of the film but I absolutely loved it. I always enjoy films that make you think and dive deeper into the underlying meaning of the film. This a criminally underrated film that has been taken viewed to much by its surface level content. Great analysis!

I remember seeing this film in the theaters and let me tell you, I was so pissed off with the ending lol. I remember telling my film teacher Howie Movshovitz about it. He told me succinctly, "Don't let that shit bother you." To this day, when I hear the soundtrack into the fray, I get emotional, this video made me cry not gonna lie. A frustrating but powerful and moving film.

I wept at the end of this movie. An absolute monumental movie.

You know, I find it amazing how you have the ability to transform every analysis you make into a life-changing philosofical reflexion. You had me on the verge of tears by the end of this one, reminding me of the emotions I felt watching this movie. Thank you for the content!

The Grey become my second favorite movie after Interstellar. As person who has major depressive disorder i cried every time i watch this movie. Ottway's story is similar with me. I lost my love, both my parents. I have nothing left in this fvcking world. Overall, life is so pointless and meaningless.

I always watch this video when I feel I've lost all hope or that I've been dealt a bad hand in life.

What an analysis! I honestly teared up as I came to really understand the true, deeper theme of the movie. This realization, for me, changed the movie completely. I honestly am sort of stunned that I missed it, and I can only say that my mistaken assumptions and expectations going in unfortunately caused me to experience this movie with a lazy disposition, resulting in only an artificial, aesthetic grasp of what I mistook as the theme. I couldn’t have been any more mistaken and couldn’t be more pleased to admit as much. The best way I can describe how I now experience this film is solely due to this exceptionally well-written and edited exam. The intention of this work of art, for me, is most closely associated with the overwelcoming, deeply moving emotions I have only felt after reading beautifully written works of literature that, in some cases, were capable of literally taking my breath away. Works such as Toni Moreison’s ‘Beloved’, Mark Danielewski’s ‘House of Leaves,’ Jon Krakauer’s ‘Into the Wild,’ ‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath, Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita,’ ‘Alice Walker ‘The Cokor Purple,’ ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou, Jeannette Walls ‘The Glass Castle,’ ‘Night’ by Elie Wiesel, Hanya Yanagihara’s ‘A Little Life,’ ‘Spilled Milk’ by K. L. Landis, Matt Haig’s ‘Reasons to Stay Alive,’ ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak, and ‘David Copperfield’ by Charles Dickens, to name a few. If you have read even one of these, you will likely know what I am talking about. Stay golden, everyone.

Thank you for this video. I loved this movie so much because it resonated with me. Having delt with depression and a suicide attempt I know first hand how tough the struggle is when finding meaning and a reason to keep living. It was easy for me to take a lesson from this movie. It becomes easier to find little meanings when your well practiced at looking for them.

My mom died about a year ago from cancer, and thankfully I was able to be with her to the very end. I was then at a point of deep questions about the meaning of life and how I fit in. What is all this suffering for? Are we to work difficult jobs, make sacrifices and then die suddenly before we are ready? Some months later this video appeared in my recommendations, so I clicked because I remembered hating The Grey years ago when I saw it and wanted an explanation. I can honestly say this video started me on a journey that has enriched my life in profound and lasting ways. Despite its conspicuous flaws I now fully appreciate The Grey and it’s universal message about the meaning of suffering, our choices to suffer bravely, and the revelation for me that it isn’t mankind who gets to ask questions of life, it is we who are being questioned, and we who are free to answer in a way befitting our conscience. I have now read V. Frankl book about a half dozen times, and if you’ve made it this far in this comment on this video you definitely should read it too, it’s a very inexpensive and short book but very helpful. Thanks to this channel for excellent and unique content. It has helped me immensely.

*Truly gorgeous take on the film, and a lovely use of quotes.*

You made me cry man i love this movie, and no could explain it better than you 🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷

Well done! Well done! I too was disappointed because of the false expectations created by the trailer. It was only recently that I began rethinking the meaning of the film. You've done a fine job of hitting the nail on the head. Thank you! Wonder work! And and a wonderful channel!

An absolute masterpiece of a film. I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen it at this point but I never get tired of it.

Beautiful video, i loved The Grey when i first watched it and was heartbroken by those who didn't understand what it was trying to portray and i couldnt really figure it out myself, i just knew the movie was a work of art. You sum it up perfectly

Everyone thought it would just be another action-packed Liam Neeson but I'm very happy it was much more than that.

Amazing breakdown. Not only the film but also the struggles we are all confronted with. I am impressed that you could watch the film and reflect on the stories meaning to the point where these isolated moments of beauty could be found and articulated. You honestly gave a different life to the frame. Thank you. This has helped me develop a tone and underlying inner struggle for a script I am working on. Keep it up!

I find myself coming back to this video, multiple times. In the US, we are *mostly* about being individuals, which in not inherently a bad thing, but, what we lose is that human connection. This is what has been troubling me for so many years. Ugh, words are very difficult. Tom: I have commented on this many times, but , your insight helps in ways I could not possibly explain. My worst regret, in this life, is I cannot find a way to help others.

Thanks for all the book and movie tips! I'm reading King, Warrior, Magician, Lover right now and it has definetely given me a life changing perspective on life. Specially in combination with watching your videos about the different Archetypes. Thanks again :*

One of the best films I've seen to answer the question to suffering and the human condition.

possibly everyone of us can relate to the situation ottway is in somewhere in life. it just happened in my case that this situation is right now.. i guess the most difficult aspect in these kinds of circumstances is to be without a person to talk to. but thanks to the internet you do not need to know those individuals personally anymore. therefore i want you to understand on how many levels this video spoke to me emotionally. no other person couldve helped me in the way you did. so please accept my "thank you" in lack of a better term which could express my gratitude.. at last i wanted to compliment you on the choice of the music accenting your soothing voice + the topic of suffering which pose a near perfect mixture altogether. i think creators need to know the value their work creates and how it impacts the lives of us viewers. so please never stop doing these videos and stay as a shining example of what people may cause while pursuing their calling. once again thank you - princeps

The YT algorithm is a force of nature After some mild long covid symptoms and an adjustment in my work and hence my own status and identity, I’ve been exploring stoicism. We lost a family member very recently. We keep learning He would have liked this video

the mood of your videos are all amazing

Watched it all alone in a movie theater in Malta at at midnight with a bag of popcorn.. one of the best memories that I have.

Excellent video, as always. Another underrated film that deals with desperation and suffering from a religious point of view is Martin Scorsese's Silence. Looking forward to listening to your analysis of this film someday!

I am so thrilled to see so many comments praising this film. I thought it was beautiful and extremely underrated.

Again, you have an insight and way of articulating yourself that brings hope and life. These essays themselves are an incredible art form and you're knocking it out of the park. Keep them coming. I've grown to look forward to these.

Hey Like Stories of Old. Not sure if you will ever see this but I hope you do. As a soldier coming out of Syria I just wanted to say how important this video is to me, I've never quite related to something to the point it moved me to tears. I cannot speak for everyone, but I believe in many soldiers, particularly those who chose combat roles, we always have the aspiration to be heroes or at least do something that feels heroic. In the state of modern warfare, it fills us with great despair when we are unable to find that. That meaning. Here suffering can be unimaginable. Scorching heat, the most debilitating sickness you could face, being worked until you are dead, being deprived of sleep around the clock, sometimes food was very little or even unavailable. For a month all we could eat were expired rations and local food. The filth, hygiene was often very difficult in these conditions, which brings its own host of problems. Insects eat you alive, sometimes the flies don't let you sleep. And even under all this your leadership resolves to torment you, driving you to the point you want to end it all. For what is all this suffering for? Why must I be made to endure this? Can I? Can I handle even one more month of this? One more week? Salvation is so far out of sight it may as well not be there. And the reasons I even came out here are nonexistent. This video hit me like a truck when I saw it. "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." I love that quote but it hardly applies to me. I have no who to fight for, no wife, no girlfriend, no child. I feel very alone often. When I must think of reasons to live I must always ponder to myself and only myself how and why. Yet for all the suffering I've endured I keep going for seemingly no reason, like Ottway and I wonder just like he does. No great battles are fought, no glorious evidence to give me purpose and the sense of accomplishment I fantasize of. Just the constant and unnecessary suffering that becomes more and more unfair and cruel with each passing day. You begin to feel betrayed. The world you understood and tried to fight for now works against you, and it seems to despise you. There is no climax to give all this hardship context, just the inherent suffering with no reward. As if you are a prisoner and not even a warrior. So many times I came so close to putting my M4 in my mouth. Usually after leaders were tormenting me yet again, but I just couldn't lift the barrel or pull the trigger and I just don't know why. When you show me Ottway screaming out to God it hit me so hard. So many times I asked him why I was here and why I was doing all this. Why did it have to be like this. You said we must find the answers ourselves. Then you said to face this situation with courage IS the triumph. Just surviving the suffering is worth fighting for. Just to see how far you can make it is worth living for. "Death is so final, but life. Life is full of possibilities." I fight to escape, to find those possibilities. Every day you live against it is another victory. Another battle you have rightfully won as a warrior and Valhalla will welcome you for it. Not everyone could have done this, but you have. That is what heroic suffering is. Thank you for this, it means means to me more than words can say.

this is the single most underrated movie of all time. i don't care about some of those movies people call gems. this is character development at its absolute finest. frank and liam deliver life time performances take consideration that liam lost his wife ... horrifically.

This is something i'd love to share and show everyone, but no one i know shares the same passion for things like this. shame. Great video mate, moving.

Wonderful analysis. This video feels motivational in a good, non-cheesy way. Having Adagio playing helps with that, too :)

When Ottaway finds himself in the den and says, "I'm in their fucking den", I got chills. I love this damn movie omg.

When I saw this film, I hadn’t seen any ads for it, or promotion. And I thought the movie, and ending was so beautiful.

This was an incredible and moving film with a deep message.

This was one of the best movies I've ever seen that I did not know about...

Hey, Tom, just wanted to say how much this video of yours changed my life. A few days ago the power was cut in my apartment because I hadn't paid my bill and it is now the beginning of winter with the weather being dangerously cold. I was low on cash, all my friends who I turned to rejected my appeals for help in time of need and I was very close to giving up hope. But I watched this video just to try and cheer myself up and I found something inside me that I thought was gone...strength...I decided that this wouldn't be it and that I would rough it out for the week or so that I had until I could pay my bill. And now I have...and I probably couldn't have done it without your work on this video...so I just wanted to say from the bottom of my heart...thank you and keep doing what you're doing.

Now I understand my depression and how I took up responsibility for myself and became a stronger person. I underwent heroic suffering.......

I liked this when I saw it... I might watch it again tonight.

I personally relate to this film. The character that quit on the log, I know how he felt; I made a similar decision a few years back, but, unfortunately I am still here.

This movie was far more than I expected. I was greatly impressed with the depth of it. The scene when Frank Grillo accepted his fate with perfect clarity...to see him bare his soul and accept it...this was one of the most powerful moments I have ever seen in film. Truly a great movie

You continue to knock these videos out of the park. Bravissimo! 👏

I went in expecting the big fight scene and an action flick. It was so much more, and makes me choke up up ten years later. So good.✌️🇺🇸

Great Video, actually gave me some hope for my own situation.

Been coming back here since 2018

"Pick up your damn suffering and bear it!" ---Jordan B. Peterson, alpha lobster

the people in this video are ones that i strive to be. i always continue to find the meaning life, even when life feels like it wants me dead, i find a way to carry on, until that moment that comes may be my last, i continue to fight regardless, i will always fight, and i will never stop going forward. and before that time, i always remember my own set of words, ''the universe can disappoint me me, hurt me, or even kill me, but it will not break me''.

It is much deeper than that, to me, personally. Thanks to a review I read online I fully understood it's true meaning and it is a powerful one. 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. He is in a transition realm purgatory where his faith is tested before moving on to the afterlife. 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. The repetitive vision of his wife lying next to him in bed, comforting him, 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). Based on my theory it is him who is terminally ill laying in bed dying. He dies in denial (For leaving his wife and everything he loved behind) therefore this causes him to go on believing that it wasn't him who died but his wife thus he writes on his suicide note with much grief and pain that 'You left me and I can't get you back'. And then there's his 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. Grey is the colour between white and black, between life and death, between heaven and hell. The Grey is purgatory. The wolfs were what ultimately lead him to salvation, and the cross that he made with the wallets before fighting the Alpha male was his way of finally showing his belief in a higher power. The wanting, and NEED to believe, right before you move on. I really enjoy and accept your interpretation as well

i wasnt supposed to cry, thank you.

After watching this movie I thought only an Irishman would confront God in such a manner.

A truly unique and beautiful movie for all of its little quirks that one must watch over and over to pick up on. Even though each viewing is so painful.