The scenes that never get old. The Grey. "You're going to die."

When The Grey was released in 2011 it's trailers sold it as a Liam Neeson action film. "It's Taken.....but with wolves!." That couldn't be further from the truth. It's a profound look at living and dying and how you face both, but with wolves! It's superb stuff, full of depth and no more so than in the scene below.

John Otway, depressed and suicidal after the death of his wife is working at the outer reaches of civilisation. He's a hunter who protects oil rig workers from predatory wolf packs deep in Alaskan territory. During a trip away from the rig a plane full of workers, including John, crashes into the snow and not everyone makes it out. A young man named Lewenden (James Badge Dale, a truly underrated actor who should be huge) gets severely wounded and he needs help. So Otway helps him the only way he can.

Excellent ain't it. A harrowing yet transcendent moment. Even away from the context of the film it's a beautiful scene full of tenderness and empathy. (Tenderness? Empathy? In a Liam Neeson film?? I know!) You get the sense John is using what he learned from his wife's death and applying it here to help someone else through the passage. He holds Lewenden's hand and helps him get through the 5 stages of grief in record time. Shocked denial & anger at first. Then the plea for help that can't come that turns into sadness until Otway's calming presence and the mention of his family helps him accept the inevitable. Then he goes peacefully, with his dignity, led by his daughter into the light. 

Neeson may have been Oscar nominated for Schindler's List in 1994 but this is hands down the best piece of acting he's ever done. If you can get through this without a lump in your throat then you're a tougher person than me.