The film, which stars Gyllenhaal and Cavill as a pair of mercenaries, has been described by critics as featuring a central relationship that is overtly homoerotic. According to film critic Benjamin Lee of The Guardian, the two leading men are "for all intents and purposes playing a gay couple."
Reports from reviews detail several moments that support this reading. In one scene, the characters reportedly pretend to be a married couple to gain access to a hotel. Gyllenhaal’s character, Bronco, also casually refers to Cavill’s character as "my husband" in front of their team, a comment that is met with no reaction.
Matt Zoller Seitz, writing for RogerEbert.com, highlighted another instance of intimacy. During a tense sequence, Bronco calls out, "I love you," to his partner, who offers a "wordless affirmation" in return. Seitz observed that "the moment is funny, but it’s not treated as a joke," suggesting a sincere emotional undercurrent. For Gyllenhaal, this is not his first time in a role with significant LGBTQ+ themes, having famously starred in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.
A Quiet Release and Commercial Failure
Despite the potential interest in this on-screen pairing, In The Grey has struggled to find an audience. The film opened to just $3 million in the United States, a figure that positions it as a notable box office disappointment for a film with its cast.
This performance follows a release strategy that some have found puzzling. There was no major press tour for the film, and neither Gyllenhaal nor Cavill promoted its release on their personal social media channels. The limited number of initial reviews on sites like Rotten Tomatoes, where it holds a mixed 46% rating, also indicates that the film was not widely screened for critics ahead of its debut. This lack of promotion has led to questions about the studio's confidence in the project.
The result is a curious case: a mainstream action film with two of Hollywood's major male stars, featuring a distinctly homoerotic central relationship, that was released with little fanfare and subsequently failed to make a commercial impact.
The movie is in the cinemas in NL now.
